Semiconductor Companies to Invest $4.4B in New York R&D

(Sandia National Lab)

Five semiconductor developers said today they will make a joint investment of $4.4 billion over the next five years to develop new computer chip technologies in New York State. The companies include Intel Corporation, IBM, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

The investments will be made in current and upgraded facilities in Albany, Canandaigua, Utica, East Fishkill, and Yorktown Heights, New York. Intel Corp. will also establish the eastern U.S. headquarters for its new chip wafer project in Albany.

The new wafer, say the companies, will transform the current 300mm standard wafer to a 450mm device, which is a key industry objective. The new 450mm wafer promises to hold twice the number individual chip elements as the 300mm wafer. It is also expected to increase manufacturing efficiency thus lower production costs, and lower the environmental impact.

Another initiative under the program involves R&D on the next two generations of specialized chips for advanced systems in various industries, including national security applications.

The five-company investment is expected to result in 2,500 new technology jobs. IBM’s facilities in Yorktown Heights and East Fishkill will add 950 jobs. SUNY’s College for Nanoscale and Science Engineering (CNSE) in Albany is expected to add 800 new jobs, with another 300 positions added at CNSE’s center in Canandaigua. Some 450 jobs will be added at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica.

Ajit Manocha, CEO of GlobalFoundries says the company also expects to complete its chip fabrication operations in Malta, New York early in 2013, which will be part of this initiative.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced the investment, says the initiatives will create some 1,900 construction jobs in Albany and Utica, with another 2,500 current jobs retained at several of the sites. The state expects to spend $400 million over five years to upgrade CSNE, of which $100 million will go for energy efficiency improvements.

Read More: Intel to Build New Oregon Plant, Upgrade U.S. Manufacturing

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