Globalfoundries Aims to Rival World's Leading Chipmakers

Sunnyvale, California-based Globalfoundries, Advanced Micro Devices' spinoff, will announce this Friday that it is ready to enter the market, in a head-to-head competition with the world's largest chipmakers. The company will use the opportunity created by the groundbreaking ceremony held this Friday at Malta, New York, to announce some of its future plans, including some of the major enterprises that will be singing a contract with the foundry company.

Globalfoundries is set to break ground this week in Malta, N.Y., where the US$4.2 billion facility will enable the chipmaker to claim a place among the world's leading manufacturers, such as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). However, the company still needs some important customers to make it to the top. The names of some of these important customers could be announced in the next 30 days, according to a recent news-article on Cnet, citing Jon Carvill, director of corporate communications at Globalfoundries.

Carvill also said that, among the early customers, a number of companies that designed low-power and wireless chips for consumer electronics could be announced. “There are a lot of benefits to being a significant player in that space,” he said.

There are no specific details regarding the names of these important companies, but recent speculation indicates the likes of NVIDIA and ATI, which are both working with TSMC at this time. The graphics chipmaker is one of significant importance for Globalfoundries in its attempt to become the world's leading chipmaker. These companies are early adopters of new manufacturing processes and with TSMC's problems with the 40nm node, the time looks just right for Globalfoundries.

The AMD spinoff has another ace up its sleeve, namely its close collaboration with IBM, which is also one of the main reasons behind the decision to place the new facility in New York, where IBM develops and manufactures chips.