GlobalFoundries acquires Singapore semiconductor firm

US chip giant's move to buy AMF boosts Republic's role in Al data centre boom

- Ovais Subhani Senior Business Correspondent

GlobalFoundries (GF), one of the world's top contract chipmakers, has acquired Singapore's Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF), in a boost to the Republic's role in the artificial intelligence-driven data centre and communications boom.

The move will strengthen Singapore's position as a trusted, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and innovation hub, and a critical node in the global chip supply chain, said A*Star, which spun off AMF in 2017.

It will make GF the world's largest foundry by revenue for silicon photonics technology.

GF and A*Star - which did not disclose the financial details of the acquisition - also entered into a research partnership agreement to advance silicon photonics technology.

The breakthrough technology integrates optical and electronic components onto a single silicon chip, using light - or photons - instead of electrical signals to achieve ultra-fast and energy-efficient data transfer.

This is critical for handling the massive datasets required by Al applications.

"GF's acquisition marks the next phase of AMF's journey, scaling to bring world-class silicon photonics innovations developed in Singapore to global markets," A*Star said.

The US chip giant plans to establish a silicon photonics research and development centre of excellence in Singapore.

This centre will partner with A*Star to advance GF’s innovation road map by focusing on next-generation materials for ultra-fast data transfer at 400Gbps speed, the company said.

This collaboration will enhance the company’s photonics platform to provide high-performance, secure data transfer solutions to its customers worldwide, GF added.

GF already has an agreement with A*Star to access the research agency’s state-of-the-art R&D facilities, capabilities and technical support in advanced packaging.

AMF, which says it is the world’s first dedicated silicon photonics foundry, has a portfolio of global customers.