Ford On Thursday, Motor Co and chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc said they plan to work together to increase the supply of the automaker’s vehicles and the broader US auto industry. but give some details of what the deal entails.
The two companies have announced a non-binding agreement that could involve increasing production capacity for Ford’s existing product line and conducting joint research and development on a number of potentially future chips. keys to future cars, such as battery management systems and self-driving systems.
In the past year, a global chip shortage prompted Ford and other automakers to cut vehicle production. Most companies direct the chips they receive into their most profitable vehicles. That has led automakers to explore ways to enhance chip access.
Largely owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, GlobalFoundries became publicly traded this year when it sold a stake in its business in a $26 billion initial public offering. . The company said some of the $2.6 billion raised in the deal will be used to build a second chip factory at a location in Malta, New York.
Ford and GlobalFoundries did not disclose any terms of the agreement or say whether Ford would provide funding or other commitments to reserve capacity at any of GlobalFoundries’ current or future plants. . The two only said that the “strategic partnership” did not involve any cross-ownership between the companies.
“We expect Ford and GlobalFoundries to work together to grow sourcing in a more formal way to support our current vehicle lineup and future demand,” Ford Vice President Chuck Gray said in a statement. interview.
Are not. 2 The American automaker planned to enter its own chip design business and have them manufactured by a partner, Mr. Gray said. Some big car companies like Volkswagen said it plans to design its own self-driving chip.
Ford and GlobalFoundries say the research will be targeted at developing new chips and working with chip suppliers around that. GlobalFoundries Senior Vice President Mike Hogan said the chips will be designed and developed at Ford’s direction and manufactured in the United States.
Ford outlined three types of chips it will work with GlobalFoundries: autonomous driving chips, in-car data networking chips, and in-car data networks. the battery management chip.
In May, Ford said it was redesigning parts to make use of chips more accessible and was also considering other strategies, including signing supply contracts directly with foundries that produce sheet metal. Wafers are used in semiconductors.
On Thursday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the deal with GlobalFoundries is part of Ford’s plan to vertically integrate key technologies.
The self-driving chip market is dominated by Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, some of which use advanced chip manufacturing technology that GlobalFoundries is not currently capable of producing.
Other chip categories, such as networking and battery management, are dominated by existing auto suppliers NXP, Marvell Technologies Inc and Analog Devices, many of which make their own chips or work with rivals Player GlobalFoundries.
For example, NXP says it will use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd’s 5-nanometer process for future automotive chips, a capability that GlobalFoundries currently cannot match.
