US awards GlobalFoundries $300 million for silicon photonics, takes 1% stake
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a letter of intent to provide GlobalFoundries with up to $300 million under the CHIPS Act to accelerate silicon‑photonic research and co‑packaged optics for AI data centers. The funding targets data‑transfer speeds of 400 gigabits per second and energy‑efficiency gains of up to five‑fold, and will be carried out at GlobalFoundries sites in Malta, New York, and Burlington, Vermont. As part of the deal, the Commerce Department will acquire an approximately 1% equity stake in GlobalFoundries, valued at about $269 million.
The award is included in a broader CHIPS‑act incentive package that totals up to $874 million for seven semiconductor firms. Apart from GlobalFoundries, the package allocates $245 million to Kepler for AI‑memory technology, $140 million to Multibeam for advanced packaging, $75 million to Extropic for thermodynamic sampling units, $50 million to Thintronics, and smaller amounts to other companies. Extropic’s funding aims to develop a new class of probabilistic AI‑compute chips. A separate $375 million award to GlobalFoundries will also support quantum‑technology research across multiple qubit platforms.
Entities: Extropic · GlobalFoundries · GlobalFoundries Inc. · Howard Lutnick · Microsoft Quantum · President Donald Trump · PsiQuantum · Silicon Photonics · Tim Breen · U.S. Department of Commerce
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The $375 million award will fund a Quantum Technology Solutions platform covering multiple qubit technologies. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The funding aims to boost data‑transfer speeds to 400 gigabits per second and achieve up to five times greater energy efficiency. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The award is part of President Donald Trump's effort to direct CHIPS‑Act research toward critical semiconductor technologies. (Reuters report)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The U.S. government will award $300 million to GlobalFoundries for silicon‑photonic AI chip research. (United States Department of Commerce)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Commerce Department will take a strategic minority equity stake of roughly 1% in GlobalFoundries as part of the arrangement. (U.S. Department of Commerce)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] GlobalFoundries signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $375 million under the CHIPS Act for quantum technology and silicon photonics. (GlobalFoundries)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] GlobalFoundries previously secured up to $1.5 billion in CHIPS awards in 2024 for expanding production capabilities. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Research will use GlobalFoundries facilities in Malta, New York, and Burlington, Vermont. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 5 SOURCES] The U.S. Department of Commerce will award GlobalFoundries up to $300 million under the CHIPS Act for silicon‑photonic AI chip research. (globalfoundries and commerce)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Research will be conducted at GlobalFoundries facilities in Malta, New York, and Burlington, Vermont. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The funding aims to raise data‑transfer speeds to 400 gigabits per second and improve energy efficiency up to five times over current implementations. (GlobalFoundries)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The award includes a strategic minority equity stake of roughly 1 % in GlobalFoundries for the U.S. Department of Commerce. (commerce department)