Making Technology Real: GlobalFoundries' Vision for the Future

The semiconductor industry has always been on the forefront of innovation and growth. In order to keep up, semiconductor manufacturers must adjust to advances in technology and changing market conditions to stay at the forefront of the industry and ahead of the ever-changing competitive landscape. There are no signs of slowing down, as global semiconductor revenues are projected to grow more than twice as fast as global GDP, reaching over $1trillion by 2030.

GlobalFoundries (GF) (NASDAQ:GFS) is no different. Since listing on Nasdaq in 2021, the company has kept up with the industry’s rapid growth and the entrance of new competitors. Through its focus on essential chips, a global manufacturing footprint, deep customer partnerships, and world-class talent across the globe, GF has remained a resilient and indispensable force in the semiconductor industry.

Keys to Success 

GF has three strategic pillars that help drive their success and growth. 

• Focus on the core product by ensuring the creation of differentiated, and essential chip technology that enables the critical systems of today and tomorrow – from smart phones to smart cars and homes, and from data centers to satellites.
• Develop relationships with customers and ecosystem partners to work side by side co-innovate around their toughest challenges — from AI at the edge to advanced mobility and secure infrastructure.
• Emphasize dependable and geographically diverse operations to provide optionality to customers and ensure products can be manufactured where they are needed. 

These pillars not only drive success today, but position the company to maintain success through changing market environments in the years to come.

In order to navigate a constantly changing industry, leadership is imperative. To meet these challenges and capture new opportunities, GF recently announced the appointment of new Tim Breen as CEO. Tim has been with the company since 2018 and most recently served as COO, where he oversaw all global operations, including the manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and IT teams. He has seen the company evolve in his time to an essential member of the semiconductor ecosystem and has a vision to keep the success and evolution of the company growing in the future while staying rooted in its core values.

“There are technologies in our pipeline that will bring incredible innovations to market,” Breen said. “We have customers with whom we are just starting our journey. And our global footprint, while already in place, has a lot of investment opportunities to grow and meet the scale that our industry requires.”

One word that Breen and everyone at GF emphasizes is innovation. Adapting for the times is critical to the company’s success, and the company invests in that with robust worldwide partnerships. The company’s research and development program, GFLabs, with more than 80 partnerships and leveraging more than 700 PhD’s around the company, is helping drive breakthroughs in areas like silicon photonics and low-power edge AI devices. In addition to collaboration, GF has innovated in other areas such as using advanced machine learning to optimize production yields and maximize outputs. Simply put by Breen, “Innovation is at our core — and it's business-driven. It’s about solving real-world problems for fast-moving markets.”

Looking Ahead 

Along with being a continuous innovator in the industry, GF wants to continue to embody their position as a truly global company, and how that can help keep moving them forward into the future. What excites Breen in particular is, “How relevant GFs work is to the technology trends that are shaping the world around us.” GF’s strategy is about being essential where it matters most — and delivering at global scale. The technology that semiconductors power can unlock opportunities for all citizens of the world, and none of that is possible without the presence of a company like GF.

With the vast number of global partnerships that GF has, building and maintaining relationships is paramount. The organization champions being partners with their customers, going beyond the typical business/customer relationship to-create technology that meets tomorrow’s demands. This not only elevates the relationship that GF has with its customers, but allows them to identify challenges in real time, and see in the real world how an innovative idea for their products can be impactful.

The past success and exciting, opportunistic vision for the future is sure to position GF as a leading player in the semiconductor industry in the present and future.

“Our best days are yet to come,” Breen said.

You can find Breen’s full conversation with Nasdaq Chief Client Officer Joe Brantuk in his recent appearance on Live from Marketsite.