SANTA CLARA, CA – Globalfoundries and SkyWater Technology have reached a deal to supply semiconductor chips to the US defense industry and work on new technology, according to reports.

Under a memorandum of agreement, the companies said they would align their technologies to give defense customers access to high-volume manufacturing.

Globalfoundries supplies defense chips through factories in the US it acquired in 2015. It purchased the chip-manufacturing unit of International Business Machines.

Skywater was divested from Cypress Semiconductor in 2017 and is fully US-owned. Last year, SkyWater received up to $170 million from the US Defense Department to develop chips designed to withstand radiation from nuclear attacks and space travel.

“This [agreement] shows proactive industry cooperation that can complement developing government policy focused on restoring American leadership for semiconductor manufacturing," said Brad Ferguson, SkyWater's CTO and head of government relations.

The US Congress introduced bills last week that would give the industry at least $22.8 billion in subsidies, most aimed at constructing chip factories.

Register now for PCB West, the leading conference and exhibition for the printed circuit board industry! Coming this September to the Santa Clara Convention Center. pcbwest.com