The company is currently the third-largest semiconductor foundry in the world by revenue. Jeff Topping / The National
The company is currently the third-largest semiconductor foundry in the world by revenue. Jeff Topping / The National

Abu Dhabi controlled chip maker doubles spend to $5.4bn



Globalfoundries aims to double its capital spending this year to US$5.4 billion (Dh19.83bn), as the microchip manufacturer moves towards becoming the world's top semiconductor foundry.

The company is controlled by Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), an investment firm owned by the Abu Dhabi Government through an 86 per cent stake. It manufactures silicon wafers that are used in microchips and installed in smartphones and computers.

Ibrahim Ajami, the chief executive of ATIC, said the boost in spending shows Abu Dhabi is committed to the long-term development of Globalfoundries as it competes in a fast-moving industry. "We've always said that we have to invest in our future and it's going to require sustained and consistent investment. Next year is shaping up to be very important for us," Mr Ajami said.

"This is disciplined investing to secure our future and to invest in our capabilities. It will also ensure that we are a preferred supplier for customers."

The company is the third-largest semiconductor foundry in the world by revenue behind two Taiwanese firms, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) and United Microelectronics. It is expected to move into the second spot this year.

Its increased investment will catapult it into one of the world's largest capital spenders in the semiconductor industry behind TSMC and Samsung Electronics, which have committed $5.9bn and $10bn this year respectively.

Globalfoundries plans to invest its increased capital across a variety of its units in Germany, Singapore, New York and Abu Dhabi, the company said in a statement.

Its facility in Dresden in in the midst of significant capacity expansion while its New York foundry is in the initial stages of being fitted out for tooling equipment. Furthermore, Globalfoundries' Singaporean facility, which it acquired in 2009 from Chartered Semiconductor for S$5.6bn (Dh14.64bn), will expand its capacity for 200 mm-sized silicon wafers that will be engineered to make microchips for state-of-the-art tablets. The company will also begin the planning stages to build its Abu Dhabi foundry, scheduled to be operational around 2015.

"We are taking the initial steps in the programming for our Abu Dhabi cluster to ensure we have the necessary plans in place for the people, infrastructure and technology to support our future operations in the region. We hope to share more details of our plans later this year," said Bob Krakauer, the chief financial officer of Globalfoundries. ATIC and Globalfoundries plans to build a $6bn microchip foundry near Masdar City that should contribute up to $4bn to the capital's economy and create as many as 6,000 jobs over the next 10 years, industry officials said.

The semiconductor industry was estimated to be worth about $300.3bn last year, according to Gartner, a technology research company. A number of industry analysts forecast that the semiconductor sector will grow by about 5 per cent this year and between 2 to 8 per cent next year as consumer demand slows.

Globalfoundries is a private company and does not have to report financial figures.

However, executives said the firm posted revenues of about $3.5bn last year and is forecast will outperform the global semiconductor industry next year.

Jon Carvill, the vice president of global communications for Globalfoundries, said the boost in funding will come from the company's existing cash flow as well as from ATIC.

"The relationship between ATIC and AMD works where AMD has the ability to match [ATIC's investment] and they've chose not to at this point in time," Mr Carvill said.

Meanwhile, Mr Carvill declined to comment on reports that the company has distributed the tender documents for its upcoming Abu Dhabi foundry to a consortium of construction firms which is due for bidding on January 15.

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
Company%20Profile
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Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

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Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

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Company profile

Company: Eighty6 

Date started: October 2021 

Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh 

Based: Dubai, UAE 

Sector: Hospitality 

Size: 25 employees 

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investment: $1 million 

Investors: Seed funding, angel investors  

Match info

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Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')

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Prize money:  $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.

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Total number of novels submitted: 1,780

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COMPANY PROFILE
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Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Brazil: 
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPEC SHEET

Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD  dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz

Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core

Memory: 8/12GB RAM

Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB

Platform: Android 12

Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW

Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps

Front camera: 40MP f/2.2

Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare

Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC

I/O: USB-C

SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano

Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red

Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE

The Sky Is Pink

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Three stars

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Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Company%C2%A0profile
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PFA Premier League team of 2018-19

Allison (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

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Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 849Nm

Range: 456km

Price: from Dh437,900 

On sale: now

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

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