NXP Semiconductors and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS) have been granted approval to establish the VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC) joint venture.

The new company will now move ahead with the planned construction of a $7.8 billion 300mm wafer fab in Singapore.

Construction on the initial phase of the fab is expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with production at the site slated to begin in 2027. Once operational, the facility will produce 130nm to 40nm mixed-signal, power management, and analog products, targeting the automotive, industrial, consumer, and mobile end markets.

The fab will create 1,500 jobs in the region and by 2029, when operating at full capacity, is expected to produce 55,000 300mm wafers per month.

The company has also signed a Technology License Agreement with chipmaking giant TSMC regarding the purchase of necessary technology licenses and transfers.

"We thank all the relevant government agencies for moving with speed to support the VSMC joint venture project,” said NXP president and CEO Kurt Sievers. “The VSMC fab perfectly aligns with our hybrid manufacturing strategy and helps ensure we have a manufacturing base which delivers competitive cost, supply control, and geographic resilience to support our long-term growth objectives.”

In addition to the newly formed joint venture with VIS, Eindhoven-headquartered NXP Semiconductors has also taken a 10 percent stake in TSMC’s chip fab in Dresden, Germany, dubbed ESMC (European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

The company also recently partnered with quantum computing startups eleQtron and ParityQC, and the QSea consortium to develop the first full-stack, ion-trap-based quantum computer demonstrator made entirely in Germany using NXP’s chip design.

Vanguard International Semiconductor, meanwhile, has five fabs across Taiwan and Singapore which, as of 2024, have a monthly production capacity of approximately 282,000 eight-inch wafers.