GlobalFoundries
US-headquartered foundry that suspended the planned Crolles fab, damaging EU chip ambitions.
GlobalFoundries, the US foundry whose 2025 withdrawal from the Crolles fab damaged EU chip ambitions, produced Europe's first fully sovereign end-to-end chip at its Dresden site with Qualinx on 10 June 2026.
Last refreshed: 22 September 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
After pulling out of Crolles, can GlobalFoundries remain a credible European partner?
Timeline for GlobalFoundries
Mentioned in: ESMC reports Dresden fab on schedule
European Tech Sovereigntycompleted a prior sovereign chip flow at Dresden
European Tech Sovereignty: Mentioned in: EU approves €659m for four German fabsMentioned in: Infineon opens €5bn Dresden fab early
European Tech SovereigntyMentioned in: Dresden chip fab marks build progress
European Tech Sovereigntysuspended the Crolles project, removing 7.5bn euros of assumed capacity
European Tech Sovereignty: EU chip share slips to 9%Background
GlobalFoundries is a US-headquartered semiconductor contract manufacturer, spun out of AMD's manufacturing operations in 2009 and majority owned by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company. It listed on the Nasdaq in 2021. Its main fabs sit in Malta, New York; Singapore; and Dresden, Germany. Unlike TSMC and Samsung, GlobalFoundries does not manufacture at the leading EDGE; it focuses on mature and speciality nodes, using FD-SOI and FinFET processes, for automotive, aerospace and IoT customers.
GlobalFoundries' Dresden fab is a significant employer in Germany's Saxon semiconductor corridor, sitting alongside Infineon and the TSMC-led ESMC joint venture in the same cluster. That existing footprint gives it a structurally different position from new-build Chips Act projects: rather than requiring fresh subsidy to break ground, it can repurpose established capacity for European sovereign manufacturing programmes such as Trusted European Flow.
Dresden delivers a sovereign chip flow
GlobalFoundries and Qualinx completed the first fully European manufacturing flow for a satellite-navigation chip at GlobalFoundries' Dresden fab on 10 June 2026, using a Deutsche Telekom data layer so no design data left the continent. The Trusted European Flow programme targets commercial qualification by end-2026 and series production in 2027.
The milestone marks a reversal for GlobalFoundries in Europe. Its 2024 suspension of the €7.5bn Crolles joint venture with STMicroelectronics had removed the mathematical basis for the Chips Act's 20% market-share target and left Brussels unable to name a replacement benchmark. Dresden shows an existing GlobalFoundries fab, rather than a new subsidised one, can anchor sovereign capability.
Who owns GlobalFoundries?
Why did GlobalFoundries cancel the Crolles factory?
What does the Crolles cancellation mean for the EU Chips Act?
Is GlobalFoundries still involved in European chip manufacturing after Crolles?
What is the Trusted European Flow programme and when does it launch commercially?
