GlobalFoundries, Marvell expand chip capacity deal for AI data center connectivity

GlobalFoundries and Marvell Technology have expanded their agreement to increase production capacity for a type of semiconductor used in high-speed optical connections in data centers.

Shares of GlobalFoundries rose nearly 6% in premarket trading on Thursday, while Marvell was up 4.5%.

The multi-year agreement will increase capacity for GlobalFoundries' silicon germanium (SiGe) technology, which enables faster and more energy-efficient semiconductor devices, at its facility in Burlington, Vermont.


The rapid growth of AI data centers is driving demand for SiGe technology used in optical networking, as higher data volumes require faster optical connections.

"Our expanded collaboration with GF will help ensure we have the SiGe technology and manufacturing capacity to support the significant growth we see ahead," said Robb Johnson, Vice President, Foundry Technology at Marvell.

The companies said the increased manufacturing capacity would help Marvell meet its demand for advanced optical networking products such as pluggable optical transceivers, near-packaged optics and co-packaged optics.