Intel will provide US foundry services and 300mm manufacturing capacity to Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor.
The US chip giant pulled out of plans to acquire Tower for $5.4bn two weeks ago, amidst pushback from regulators.
As part of the new deal, Tower will invest up to $300 million to “acquire and own equipment and other fixed assets” at Intel Foundry Services' (IFS') New Mexico fabrication plant.
Tower will eventually have a capacity corridor of “over 600,000 photo layers per month," with Intel's Fab 11X manufacturing Tower’s 65-nanometer power management BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) flows.
"We are excited to continue working with Intel," Tower CEO Russell Ellwanger said. "As we look to the future, our primary focus is to expand our customer partnerships through high-scale manufacturing of leading-edge technology solutions.
"This collaboration with Intel allows us to fulfill our customers’ demand roadmaps, with a particular focus on advanced power management and radio frequency silicon on insulator (RF SOI) solutions, with full process flow qualification planned in 2024. We see this as a first step towards multiple unique synergistic solutions with Intel.”
Tower already owns fabs in Israel (150mm and 200mm), the US (200mm), Japan (200mm and 300mm), and plans to launch in Italy in partnership with STMicroelectronics.
"We launched Intel Foundry Services with a long-term view of delivering the world’s first open system foundry that brings together a secure, sustainable, and resilient supply chain with the best of Intel and our ecosystem," Stuart Pann, IFS SVP and GM said.
