GlobalWafers is doubling down on U.S. chip production, announcing a new $4 billion investment. Most of it will expand its newly opened silicon wafer facility in Sherman, Texas. The rest will support the company’s U.S. operations, including its site in St. Peters, Missouri.
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The announcement came during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Sherman plant, a $3.5 billion project that will serve as the company’s U.S. flagship and its largest silicon wafer factory worldwide.
“Our U.S. customers appear to have a very strong demand for U.S.-based production capacity,” said Doris Hsu, Chairperson of GlobalWafers.
The Sherman campus, which covers 142 acres, is designed to accommodate up to six phases. One phase is now operational, and the company plans to start building phase two soon. Hsu said future phases will depend on several conditions, including profitability and customer demand.
“Phases one and two must be profitable, and we need to secure customers… who show strong interest in local production and are willing to sign long-term contracts,” she said. “We also need reasonable pricing, prepayments, and government support. If these conditions are met, we’ll move ahead.”\
The site is the only advanced 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing facility operating in the U.S. and the first built in the country in more than 20 years. These 12-inch wafers are critical to making chips for everything from phones and appliances to cars and artificial intelligence systems.
The project has already created 1,200 construction jobs and 180 permanent roles, with plans to hire up to 650 engineering, technical, and operational workers by 2028.
GlobalWafers expects to receive $406 million in federal CHIPS and Science Act funding, which will go toward both the Sherman site and its Missouri facility, operated through subsidiary MEMC. The Missouri plant will produce silicon-on-insulator wafers, also used in advanced chip manufacturing.
Hsu said the company hasn’t received the funding yet but has submitted all required documentation and expects the money to be released in the first half of this year.
While GlobalWafers first announced plans for the Sherman plant in 2022, before tariffs on semiconductor imports were floated, the timing has proven to be a strategic advantage.
“Although tariffs (on semiconductors) have not been finalized… (U.S.) customers are hoping to secure local supply to reduce the potential uncertainties that tariffs may bring,” said Hsu.
