GlobalFoundries (GF) has finalized a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office for a $375 million R&D award. Distributed over a five-year milestone-based framework, the capital is designated to scale GF’s Quantum Technology Solutions (QTS) business unit, accelerating domestic semiconductor fabrication lines capable of transitioning quantum hardware from laboratory-scale prototyping to commercial wafer production.
The agreement addresses one of the fundamental manufacturing bottlenecks in the quantum sector: transitioning novel qubit architectures into standardized, high-yield fab processes. While academic laboratories and specialized startups have demonstrated functional physical qubits, scaling these systems requires cleanroom uniformity, repeatable lithography, and process discipline found only in commercial high-volume foundries. Through QTS, GlobalFoundries provides third-party quantum developers with open access to commercial foundry lines, addressing critical scaling requirements across production, yield enhancement, and reliability testing.
Technically, GF is focusing its fabrication roadmap on three essential pillars: cryogenic CMOS process nodes, advanced packaging, and heterogeneous integration. To resolve the interconnect and thermal bottleneck common to quantum dilution refrigerators, control electronics must operate at sub-Kelvin or liquid-helium temperatures right alongside the quantum processing units (QPUs). GF is developing differentiated cryogenic CMOS processes that maintain electrical characteristics, minimal noise figures, and reliable switching speeds in these extreme thermal environments, replacing bulky room-temperature coaxial cabling harnesses with integrated silicon control planes.
Simultaneously, the physical integration of quantum processors requires specialized backend packaging. GlobalFoundries is deploying advanced multi-die heterogeneous integration and interposer solutions to physically interface qubit chips with classical read-out silicon. These packaging architectures must manage mechanical stresses resulting from extreme thermal cycling while delivering high-density, low-loss interconnects essential for multi-qubit coherence and signal fidelity.
“This is another important milestone for Quantum Technology Solutions and our efforts to build a scalable domestic quantum manufacturing ecosystem,” said Nicholas Sergeant, Vice President and General Manager of Quantum Technology Solutions at GlobalFoundries. “Since launching, we have expanded engagement with customers and ecosystem partners who are leveraging GF’s R&D and manufacturing expertise to address some of the industry’s most challenging scaling requirements.”
The quantum award complements GF’s broader specialty technology portfolio. The foundry recently signed a $300 million letter of intent with the CHIPS R&D Office to advance silicon photonics manufacturing. Combined with optical connectivity, quantum architectures represent foundational hardware pillars for future high-performance computing and next-generation artificial intelligence workloads. By leveraging optical interconnects and quantum coprocessors, future computing centers can handle massive matrix operations and algorithmic processing with lower interconnect power dissipation.
From an industrial policy and supply chain perspective, the $375 million funding establishes a secure, onshore manufacturing footprint within the United States. By standardizing quantum fabrication within a pure-play foundry environment, the initiative establishes a scalable domestic supply chain, allowing system developers to commercialize quantum solutions on proven CMOS manufacturing infrastructure.
