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Nvidia’s Subtle Change to How It Counts Cash Flow Has Big Implications for Buybacks

Credited to Barron's$ · wsj.com2h ago

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The chip maker quietly signaled a new way of thinking about the competing demands of capital returns and building its AI ecosystem.

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Chips & Supply · United States

GlobalFoundries Signs $2B TSMC Deal for CoWoS Interposer Manufacturing

Credited to Converge Digest · convergedigest.com · 13h ago

Photograph · Converge Digest

GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) has signed a $2 billion, five-year manufacturing agreement with TSMC to establish a U.S.-based supply of silicon interposers for TSMC’s Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) advanced packaging ecosystem. Under the agreement, GlobalFoundries will expand manufacturing capacity at its Malta, New York semiconductor fabrication facility. The initiative will establish what the company describes as the first U.S.-based manufacturing source for silicon interposers supporting advanced AI and high-performance computing packages.

The agreement covers silicon interposers incorporating advanced packaging technologies, including embedded deep trench capacitor (DTC) components. Silicon interposers provide high-density electrical connections between processors, accelerator chiplets, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks within advanced semiconductor packages. Embedded capacitors can support local power delivery and power integrity in these increasingly complex assemblies. GlobalFoundries will provide manufacturing services to TSMC, which will incorporate the components into its broader CoWoS packaging ecosystem. The additional capacity is intended to support multiple product generations as AI accelerator designs evolve.

Volume production is expected to begin ramping during the first half of 2028. The initial five-year agreement establishes a framework for additional manufacturing capacity as customer demand increases. The collaboration expands GlobalFoundries’ participation in the AI semiconductor supply chain beyond its established specialty foundry, silicon photonics, and power semiconductor businesses. It also provides TSMC with a domestic U.S. manufacturing source for a critical advanced packaging component.

$2 Billion U.S. Advanced Packaging Agreement

Manufacturing — Silicon interposers for CoWoS advanced packaging

Technology — Advanced silicon interposers, including embedded deep trench capacitors

Applications — AI accelerators, HBM integration, high-performance computing

Analysis: Advanced Packaging Becomes a Strategic U.S. Manufacturing Priority

The agreement marks an important expansion of GlobalFoundries’ manufacturing relationship with TSMC and highlights the increasing importance of advanced packaging capacity in AI semiconductor production.

CoWoS is a foundational packaging technology for high-performance AI accelerators. Rather than relying on a single monolithic processor, CoWoS enables multiple semiconductor dies and HBM stacks to be integrated within a common package. Silicon interposers provide the dense electrical interconnections required to move data between these components.

The manufacturing challenge extends beyond producing the most advanced logic transistors. Advanced AI packages also require high-quality interposers, fine-pitch interconnects, power delivery components, substrates, assembly, and testing. The GlobalFoundries agreement addresses one component of this broader manufacturing chain.

Why Deep Trench Capacitors Matter

As AI accelerator packages grow in complexity, supplying stable power to high-performance processors and HBM stacks becomes increasingly difficult. Deep trench capacitors provide high-density capacitance within silicon structures. Integrating these components into interposers can help improve local power delivery and reduce voltage fluctuations associated with rapidly changing processor workloads. The announcement does not specify capacitance density, electrical performance, interposer dimensions, or supported CoWoS package configurations.

GlobalFoundries Expands Its AI Infrastructure Manufacturing Portfolio

The agreement fits into a broader expansion of GlobalFoundries’ AI-related semiconductor business spanning silicon photonics, advanced packaging, high-speed connectivity, and power semiconductor technologies. These technologies address different requirements within AI infrastructure: silicon interposers provide dense connectivity inside accelerator packages, while optical technologies support high-bandwidth connections between chips, boards, racks, and systems.

What Comes Next

The first-half 2028 volume production target establishes a defined manufacturing milestone. Important developments to track include manufacturing qualification, initial production yields, interposer dimensions, supported packaging generations, and potential expansion beyond the initial agreement. The companies have not disclosed annual production volumes, specific end customers, or allocation of the $2 billion across individual years. The announcement also does not establish that complete CoWoS packages will be assembled in New York; its confirmed scope is U.S. manufacturing of silicon interposers for TSMC’s packaging ecosystem.

Business — Specialty semiconductor foundry and manufacturing services

Technologies — Silicon photonics, RF-SOI, FD-SOI, SiGe, GaN, advanced packaging, silicon interposers

AI Infrastructure — CoWoS interposers, optical connectivity, CPO/NPO, power semiconductors

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