GlobalFoundries to Make TSMC CoWoS Interposers in New York

GlobalFoundries announced on 8 October 2026 a manufacturing agreement with TSMC to establish a US-based supply of silicon interposers for TSMC’s CoWoS advanced packaging ecosystem. Under the agreement, GlobalFoundries says it will provide manufacturing service to TSMC and add fabrication capacity at its Malta, New York facility.

The agreement has an initial term of five years, the company says, and volume production is expected to begin ramping at the Malta site during the first half of 2028.

What the Agreement Covers

GlobalFoundries says it expects to expand capacity at Malta and establish the first US-based source of silicon interposers supporting advanced packaging technologies, including embedded deep trench capacitor components.

According to the release, the added capacity will give greater scale and flexibility for delivering advanced packaging across multiple product generations, and the agreement provides a framework for future capacity expansion as customer demand grows.

“Advanced packaging is becoming increasingly critical to delivering the performance, power efficiency and scale required for next-generation AI systems,” said Ed Kaste, senior vice president of CMOS Business at GlobalFoundries.

Kaste added that by providing manufacturing service from GlobalFoundries’ US footprint, “we are creating a secure, scalable source of essential advanced-packaging elements that will help customers accelerate innovation and strengthen the semiconductor supply chain.”

Where the Interposer Sits

TSMC’s own CoWoS page describes the technology as advanced 2.5D packaging that integrates multiple chips and high-bandwidth memory stacks for high-performance computing and AI products.

In its CoWoS-S version, TSMC says, a large silicon interposer carries high-density interconnects and embedded deep trench capacitors, with logic chiplets and HBM stacks mounted on it, and the interposer can reach about 3.3 times the reticle size, or roughly 2,700 square millimetres. TSMC says CoWoS has been in production since 2012.

TSMC’s page also lists embedded deep trench capacitors in its CoWoS-L version. Neither the release nor TSMC’s page says which CoWoS variant the GlobalFoundries interposers will serve.

TSMC’s Demand Backdrop

On the same day, TSMC reported September 2026 revenue of approximately NT$511.86 billion, up 54.6 percent from September 2025, and revenue for January through September of NT$3,898.73 billion, up 41.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

GlobalFoundries ties the agreement to growing demand for high-performance computing and AI systems. Its release lists among its risk factors that expansions may not proceed as planned if expected funding, including CHIPS and Science Act and New York State Green CHIPS awards, is delayed or withheld.

The Structural Read

The part is a layer under the chips. TSMC’s page describes CoWoS as packaging that joins logic chips and high-bandwidth memory stacks, and the silicon interposer as the layer they sit on.

The clock is long. The release sets an initial term of five years and expects volume production to begin ramping in the first half of 2028, so capacity added now arrives in more than a year.

The framing is supply security. Ed Kaste of GlobalFoundries describes the aim as a secure, scalable source of essential advanced-packaging elements from its US manufacturing footprint.

Three Implications

A SECOND SOURCE IN THE US GlobalFoundries says it expects Malta to become the first US-based source of silicon interposers.

CAPACITY ON A LONG CLOCK The release expects the volume ramp in the first half of 2028, under a five-year initial term.

ROOM TO GROW The agreement provides a framework for future capacity expansion as customer demand grows, the release says.

The Business Engineer Lens

This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework AI’s Geopolitical Chokepoint.

The framework’s starting point: “The digital economy rests on a physical foundation that most people in that economy never see.”

As we read it, an interposer is that kind of foundation: a slab of silicon under the AI chip and its memory that few buyers ever see, and the release treats where it is made as a supply-chain question worth a five-year agreement.

What Is Not Established

We read the GlobalFoundries release in full, TSMC’s CoWoS technology page and TSMC’s September revenue report. The release does not give a contract value, the volume of interposers, the investment in Malta, or the TSMC customers whose products the parts are for. We found no TSMC statement on the agreement in its newsroom. We did not contact GlobalFoundries or TSMC.

The Bottom Line

GlobalFoundries says it will make silicon interposers for TSMC’s CoWoS packaging at its Malta, New York fab under a five-year initial agreement. It says it expects the plant to become the first US-based source of these parts, with volume production expected to start ramping in the first half of 2028.