Singapore-based semiconductor startup Silicon Box has said it will invest €3.2 billion ($3.5bn) to build a chip manufacturing plant in Italy.
The plant will produce chips for artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and high-performance computing (HPC).
Silicon Box recently received a $1bn valuation and has raised $407.6 million across four rounds of funding.
According to a statement from the company and the Italian government, the plant is expected to create 1,600 new direct jobs, in addition to indirect jobs that will be generated through the construction of the facility and in the wider supply and logistics ecosystem.
The site for the facility has yet to be finalized but it is believed locations in northern Italy are being considered. The Italian government will use grants to support the project financially however the figure hasn’t been released as it still needs approval from the EU.
In 2023, the European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the bloc’s €43 billion ($47bn) Chips Act. The regulation aims to double the EU's global market share in semiconductors from 10 percent to at least 20 percent by 2030.
Founded in 2021 by the former CEO of STATS ChipPAC, Dr. Byung Joon, and Marvell founders Dr. Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai, Silicon Box develops advanced semiconductor packaging solutions, using chiplets to create a system-on-a-chip solution.
In January 2024, TDK Ventures invested an undisclosed sum in the startup. Chip manufacturer UMC is also an investor.
