Demand in the chip industry will not cool down in the future either, which is why companies will continue to invest. Renesas is bringing a factory mothballed in 2014 back to life by 2024, Foxconn is partnering with DNeX for more automotive chips, creating a new fab.
Foxconn wants to step up its efforts in the automotive business
In the future, Foxconn no longer just wants to stand for iPhones, PC components and more in this direction, but above all wants to get involved in the automotive segment. For this, the huge corporation aka Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd. last year already declared, among other things, the cooperation with the Stellantis Group. In December 2021, it was said that four new chip families would be created for the 14 brands of the auto empire in cooperation with Foxconn, which could cover 80 percent of Stellantis' chip requirements from 2024.
So far, Foxconn is not a chip manufacturer, but a contract manufacturer. Neither is the partner, Dagang NeXchange Berhad (“DNeX”). The joint venture is now supposed to set up the factory in Malaysia, 40,000 wafers per month in a planar 40 nm to 28 nm production are targeted. The coming months should reveal who will ultimately take over the chip design for the automotive solutions. BMW recently revealed how things can work there: INOVA Semiconductors takes over the chip designs, Globalfoundries manufactures them.
Renesas wants to manufacture more power semiconductors
Renesas will reopen a factory in Japan that was shut down in 2014 due to a lack of profitability. In the next two years, the tools based on the old standard of 150 mm and 200 mm wafers (6 and 8 inches) are to be brought up to scratch, from modern 300 mm wafers (12 inches) Power Semiconductor, i.e. power semiconductors, which are required in countless areas of industry including the automotive segment. The group will invest 90 billion yen, the equivalent of around 700 million US dollars. Ultimately, this factory should double Renesas' previous production output in the area of IGBTs and Power MOSFETs.