GlobalFoundries Secures $300M CHIPS R&D Award; US Takes 1% Equity

GlobalFoundries announced a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce, securing a $300 million award to accelerate research and development in next-generation silicon photonics. This funding, under the CHIPS Research and Development Office, aims to advance optical materials, wafer technologies, and advanced packaging, reinforcing U.S. leadership in AI infrastructure. In exchange, the U.S. Department of Commerce will receive approximately 1% equity in GlobalFoundries, allowing the public to share in the company's growth. This initiative will support the development of near-packaged optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO), building on GF's SCALE™ platform.