Thomas Caulfield isn’t exactly what you expect from a Texan. Rather small and no speaker either. But he can be quite unyielding on the matter. Especially when billions are involved. Investments in new chip factories are of these dimensions. Investments like those made by Caulfield, head of the semiconductor manufacturer Globalfoundries. In Asia, in the USA and in Dresden, Germany. When the assembly lines at VW, Mercedes and Co. came to a standstill due to Corona and the general lack of production capacity, he promised help.
It is understandable that he was not enthusiastic when his direct competitor TSMC recently received funding commitments of around five billion from the state for a new plant in Dresden. He said in Munich that it wasn’t about the competition: “We compete with TSMC every day.” However, he sees the market being distorted by the billion-dollar subsidy: “We received millions and TSMC received billions,” he says, “that’s why we’re talking to the EU and the German government.” His goal: “We just want equal opportunities.”
Thomas Caulfield, head of the world’s third-largest chip manufacturer Globalfoundries, at the opening of his company’s factory in Singapore a good two weeks ago.
(Photo: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP)
In this industry, long-term planning is necessary anyway, says Caulfield. And even if you receive high subsidies: a new chip factory is still expensive. However, the long-term cycles also pose a danger. There is currently talk of a shortage of chips everywhere. But what if all the factories that are being built in the USA, in Israel, in Germany, in Asia are finished? Won’t there then be an oversupply?
Caulfield appears calm. Yes, he admits, a lot of manufacturing capacity will be created. China alone will build more chip factories in order to dominate the market. But it’s a matter of the dozen. But if the boss has his way, Globalfoundries should say goodbye to that more and more. Caulfield is already the sole supplier for 67 percent of chip output, and Caulfield wants to increase that even further.
“How often do you actually make calls on your cell phone?”
Globalfoundries therefore works very closely with customers, for example with large car manufacturers, to produce exactly the chips with exactly the functions they need. This is also why he is less worried about overcapacity. Globalfoundries’ investment plan is based on secured orders from customers who also want long-term business relationships and security. If the whole thing is worthwhile for Globalfoundries, “then we’ll invest.”
The chip manufacturer also puts money into start-ups, but in a different way than we know it. Because it’s about young companies that design chips. However, the truth in this business lies in the silicon, so to speak. Do they do what they are designed to do? “Today you no longer buy a chip as a product, but as a function,” says Caulfield. Globalfoundries makes this possible for them and converts the start-ups’ designs into real chips.
More and more of them are also being installed in cars. Caulfield sees a development that is somewhat reminiscent of that of smartphones. “How often do you actually make calls on your cell phone?” he asks rhetorically. In cars, too, the main innovations would now come via electronics – i.e. via chips. However, putting everything into a powerful central computer in the car is not an option. Mainly for security reasons. Ultimately, safety-relevant functions such as airbags or ABS should function independently of one another.
Security and trust is also an issue that Globalfoundries would like to position itself on. In order to cope with the amount of data that is generated in cars, a lot of things have to be evaluated in the car, edge computing The experts call this computing close to the data source. And since the data is also sensitive – who was where, when, drove how fast, etc. – Caulfield hopes that the discerning customers of established manufacturers will not look so much at the price, but rather at the brands they can trust.