GlobalFoundries (GF) has announced plans to expand its product portfolio to include RISC-V processor IP, a move supported by the acquisition of MIPS.

GF said it expects the acquisition to close in the second half of 2025, and MIPS will continue to operate as a standalone business within GF and “serve its customers across a broad range of technologies.”

No financial details about the transaction have been disclosed.

Based out of Sunnyvale, California, MIPS develops and licenses chip architecture. It recently expanded its processor IP offerings with the launch of its Atlas portfolio, a suite of compute cores based on the RISC-V specification that were designed to support real-time and application processing and AI Edge workloads.

First released in 2010, RISC-V is an open standard instruction set (ISA) architecture based on established RISC principles, which is provided under open source licenses that do not require fees.

In 2022, RISC-V International, the non-profit organization that manages the ISA, claimed there were 10 billion chips based on its ISA in circulation around the world, and predicted that number would climb to 25 billion by 2027.

“Through this acquisition, we will expand our capabilities to offer customers more flexible solutions, paired with our differentiated process technologies and world-class manufacturing to help them build best-in-class products,” said Niels Anderskouv, president and chief operating officer at GlobalFoundries.

“This acquisition will be a powerful step forward to push the boundaries of efficiency and performance across a broad range of applications in automotive, industrial, and data center infrastructure.”

“Becoming part of GlobalFoundries marks the start of a bold new chapter for MIPS,” said Sameer Wasson, CEO of MIPS. “GF’s proven track record in delivering differentiated technologies through a secure, global manufacturing footprint will enhance our ability to accelerate innovation and scale our solutions – unlocking new opportunities in the physical AI space and driving even greater value for our customers.”

Last month, GlobalFoundries announced plans to invest an additional $3 billion to boost semiconductor manufacturing at its facilities in New York and Vermont, USA. The investment builds on GF’s existing expansion plans, which saw the company pledge more than $13bn to expand and modernize its existing fabs in the two states, bringing GF’s total investment in the US to $16bn.

The additional $3bn would be used to support advanced research and development initiatives focused on packaging innovation, silicon photonics, and next-generation gallium nitride technologies, GF said.