As the world’s largest producer and consumer of new energy vehicles, China’s domestic market will account for over 40% of global demand for automotive electronic chips in 2025, making it crucial for GlobalFoundries.
To mitigate the impact of international geopolitical factors on the semiconductor supply chain, major international chip manufacturers have collectively adopted the slogan “In China, for China,” shifting their focus to a localized production strategy of “Made in China, Delivered in China.”
On September 24, during the GlobalFoundries 2025 Technology Summit held in Shanghai, GlobalFoundries Chief Business Officer Mike Hogan introduced to multiple media outlets in an interview session that as a mature process chip foundry (the chip industry generally refers to 28 nanometers and above as mature processes, and below 28 nanometers as advanced processes), GlobalFoundries’ 12-inch wafers (that is, mainstream large-size wafers with a diameter of 300 mm) will have a total shipment volume of 2 million pieces in 2024, and it has established four different wafer manufacturing plants across North America, Asia, and Europe, located in Malta, New York, Burlington, Vermont, Germany, and Singapore.
For the Chinese market in Asia, GlobalFoundries also announced this year a partnership with Zengxin Technology, a domestically-owned 12-inch wafer foundry headquartered in Guangzhou. The company specializes in smart sensor semiconductors for automotive and IoT applications. The partnership will see GlobalFoundries responsible for technology licensing and Zengxin responsible for foundry production.
Victor Hu, GlobalFoundries’ newly appointed president of China in September, told reporters that GlobalFoundries chose Zencore Technology because of its production capacity. The two companies will primarily utilize GlobalFoundries’ 40nm process technology, currently focusing on the production of automotive CMOS (image sensor) products for the automotive electronics sector, to meet the current needs of Chinese customers for “Made in China, Delivered in China.”
According to market research firm TrendForce, GlobalFoundries is the fifth-largest wafer foundry in the world and the largest in the United States, with a market share of 3.9% in the second quarter of this year and 4.2% in the first quarter. TSMC, Samsung, SMIC, and UMC ranked ahead of GlobalFoundries, with market shares of 70.2%, 7.3%, 5.1%, and 3.9%, respectively, in the second quarter.
Compared to last year, the global foundry market has shown significant growth overall this year. Advanced processes are experiencing rapid growth driven by the explosive demand for AI. While mature processes, while growing at a slower pace than advanced processes, are also experiencing a steady recovery due to customer demand in the automotive, IoT, and industrial sectors.
In 2024, GlobalFoundries’ annual revenue is projected to reach US$6.75 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.7%. Of this, automotive electronics will account for 25%, smart IoT devices for approximately 35%, and communications and industrial equipment for 10% each.
Automotive electronics is currently GlobalFoundries’ primary growth engine. Despite slowing global demand for new energy vehicles last year, automotive electronics still saw year-on-year growth exceeding 10%, significantly outpacing its other businesses (smart devices saw a 12% decline, communications infrastructure equipment saw a 5% increase, and industrial equipment saw a 5% decline).
In the first half of this year, the company’s revenue reached US$3.273 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%, compared to a sharp decline of nearly 13% in the same period last year. Automotive electronics grew by over 12% in the first half of the year, while smart devices declined by 2%, communications equipment grew by 8%, and industrial equipment remained unchanged.
GlobalFoundries CEO Tim Breen believes that automotive electronics is not only the company’s revenue pillar, but also a major “high-growth market.”
To achieve growth, the company has also proposed a larger capacity expansion plan. Last year, GlobalFoundries shipped 2 million chips, measured on a 12-inch wafer basis. The company’s current goal is to quickly reach a production capacity of 3 million chips.
As the world’s largest producer and consumer of new energy vehicles, China’s domestic market will account for over 40% of global demand for automotive electronic chips in 2025, making it crucial for GlobalFoundries.
In line with its China localization strategy, the company not only partnered with Guangzhou Zengxin Technology to achieve local production but also opened new offices in Beijing and Guangzhou to strengthen its local presence. GlobalFoundries currently has over 13,000 employees worldwide.
