GlobalFoundries (GF) has expanded its partnership with Japanese chipmaker Renesas to further boost semiconductor manufacturing in the US.

According to the companies, Renesas will receive access to GF’s technology portfolio, including the company’s FDX (Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator, or FD-SOI) platform.

FD-SOI is a process that involves placing a thin, 10nm silicon sheet on top of an oxide layer in order to provide better power control. It is particularly suited for the manufacturing of CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or quantum chips, as they typically run at extremely low temperatures.

Renesas will also have access to GF’s BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) and other CMOS technologies with non-volatile memory features to support its SoCs, power devices, and MCUs. Tape-outs under this expanded collaboration are on track to begin in mid-2026, the companies said in a statement.

Production capacity will be granted to Renesas in the US, Germany, and Singapore, and in China via manufacturing partnerships GF has already established. Renesas and GF are also considering the option of porting specific GF process technologies into Renesas’ inhouse fabs in Japan to further boost manufacturing resilience and support future capacity needs.

“This partnership strengthens a proven relationship and underscores GF’s role as a trusted partner for essential semiconductor technologies,” said Tim Breen, CEO of GlobalFoundries.

Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas, added: “Access to a broader range of GF technologies gives us the flexibility and supply assurance our customers need. This expanded partnership enables a stable, long-term supply of semiconductors while ensuring the highest quality and reliability for our products. These capabilities are essential as we deliver advanced solutions, with demand for electrification and connectivity — and the rapidly growing compute requirements driven by AI applications — accelerating worldwide.”

Renesas was founded in 2010 when NEC’s chip division merged with Renesas Technology, itself the product of a merger between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric’s chip operations.

In February 2024, the company acquired printed circuit board (PCB) company Altium for $5.9 billion, the third multi-billion-dollar purchase for Renesas following its 2016 purchase of chipmaker Intersil for $3.2bn; 2018 acquisition of Integrated Device Technology for $6.7bn; and 2021 purchase of Dialog Semiconductor for $5.9bn.