GlobalFoundries to Run Two New Chip Fabs in New York Under $21 Billion Plan
GlobalFoundries has been picked to supply the technology and run two new chip factories at its Malta, New York campus under a $21 billion U.S.-Japan initiative. The company disclosed the selection on Oct. 14, 2026, according to its announcement. GlobalFoundries The $21 billion program value was reported by StreetInsider. StreetInsider
The deal is for operation, not ownership. GlobalFoundries will provide the manufacturing technology and handle daily fab operations at Malta. A fab is a factory that prints circuits onto silicon wafers. That split decides who controls the process and who carries yield responsibility, the share of working chips, versus who owns the site and provides the capital.
The first fab is expected to add about 900,000 300mm wafers of yearly capacity when fully operational. A 300mm wafer is the 12-inch silicon disc that chips are cut from. StreetInsider No date for full operation was given in the verified materials. The two-fab project is expected to create about 27,000 construction and ecosystem jobs and more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs in New York. Investing.com
Malta already has earlier public and corporate funding tied to it. GlobalFoundries and the Biden-Harris Administration announced CHIPS and Science Act funding for chip manufacturing in February 2024. GlobalFoundries A $1.5 billion potential investment was tied to expansion of the New York facility at that time. In January 2025, the company said its overall investment in the New York Advanced Packaging and Photonics Center was expected to be $575 million. GlobalFoundries Those steps came before the two-fab plan. They put front-end wafer making, the step that builds circuits on the wafer, and advanced packaging on the same campus.
The broader context here is that the two big numbers measure different things. The $21 billion frames total program scope across partners and phases. The 900,000-wafer figure is steady yearly output for one fab once running at full pace. For a foundry, which makes chips for other companies, the link is utilization and ramp pace. Large 300mm additions need sustained output to cover fixed costs, and revenue follows tool install by quarters because customer testing takes time.
On execution, what matters is staffing and sequencing. Building and support work grows fast and then falls off. Lasting fab work is smaller, longer lasting, and centered on process, equipment and facilities teams. A 27,000-person peak means cleanroom building, utilities, tool hookup and supply work at once. That phase depends on skilled trades, equipment slots and permit timing. What is known is the site, the operator and the planned capacity addition. What is still to be priced in is phasing, funding disbursement and the customer orders that fill the space.
