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GlobalFoundries has been selected to operate two new semiconductor fabs at its Malta, New York, campus under a U.S.-Japan initiative providing up to $21 billion in funding.
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The first approximately $10 billion fab is expected to break ground later this year and come online in 2029.
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The first fab is expected to add about 900,000 300mm wafers of annual U.S. capacity. A second fab would add approximately the same amount. The project is expected to create about 27,000 construction and ecosystem jobs.
GlobalFoundries has been selected to operate two new semiconductor manufacturing facilities at its Malta, New York, campus under a U.S.-Japan investment initiative providing up to $21 billion in funding.
The semiconductor maker said in its Oct. 14 announcement that Japan will provide the investment while GlobalFoundries contributes the technology, manufacturing expertise and operating capabilities.
An initial investment of approximately $10 billion will accelerate construction of the first fab. A second investment of approximately $10 billion would fund another fab at the site.
Two Fabs to Expand US Chip Capacity
The first facility is a new 300mm semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) expected to come online in 2029. It is expected to add approximately 900,000 300mm wafers of annual U.S. manufacturing capacity when fully operational. A second fab would add approximately the same amount.
A 300mm silicon wafer, also called a 12-inch wafer, is a very flat silicon disk used to make hundreds or thousands of semiconductor chips. Its larger surface holds more chips than a 200mm wafer, helping manufacturers spread processing costs across more devices. This makes it the standard size for high-volume memory and logic production, including advanced and mature technologies.
GlobalFoundries said the initiative is intended to support growing demand across automotive, industrial and connected infrastructure markets.
The company expects the two facilities to create about 27,000 construction and ecosystem jobs in New York’s Capital Region, along with more than 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs.
When is Construction Expected to Start
GlobalFoundries expects to break ground on the first fab later this year. The company said the Malta site is permitted and shovel-ready and can use existing local infrastructure to accelerate construction.
The announcement did not provide a construction contractor or a detailed project schedule. GlobalFoundries said it will announce details of groundbreaking separately.
The company also agreed with the U.S. Department of Commerce to amend its existing CHIPS and Science Act award. The amendment will reallocate $955 million toward investments in silicon photonics, silicon-germanium and advanced packaging at facilities in Malta and Burlington, Vermont.
A drone image of the GlobalFoundries semiconductor manufacturing facility and construction site with fresh earth work is seen at Malta, NY. Image: GlobalFoundries
Expansion Supports Data Center Technologies
GlobalFoundries said the added investments will expand domestic manufacturing capacity for technologies increasingly critical to communications infrastructure and data centers.
One of those semiconductor customer-segments, data centers, has seen a surge in construction starts.
While at the same time, constraints to data center development have been seen from lack of energy procurement, community pushback, tightened local and state regulations, limits on water and impact to natural resources, difficulties sourcing skilled construction labor, and reduced supply of components needed for the construction and operating data centers.
Through August 2026, Data Centers accounted for 24% of all US Nonresidential Building starts, ConstructConnect economists reported in the October Data Center Report.
August 2026 Data Center spending totaled $14.4 billion across 17 US projects, lifting the year-to-date (YTD) project count to 153 and the total spent on Data Centers to $98.5 billion, according to ConstructConnect.
Among the massive buildout of data centers, reshoring of manufacturing has also contributed to propping up US nonresidential construction. ConstructConnect Associate Economist Devin Bell said "More than $50 billion in US Manufacturing starts were recorded during July and August, the strongest two-month period on record."
Bell added that, "The surge was driven by major semiconductor and advanced-manufacturing projects, highlighting how reshoring and domestic investment can translate into substantial construction spending."
GlobalFoundries is a semiconductor manufacturer that operates fabrication facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company did not identify a construction team or procurement schedule in its statement.
The next project milestone is the company’s expected groundbreaking of the first fab later this year.
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