Apple gives maker Face ID laser 332 million euros for construction of factory in US
Apple is investing $390 million, converted about 332 million euros, in Finisar. That is a company that supplies vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for the Face ID camera in the iPhone X. The company is opening a factory in Texas.
According to Apple, the investment will allow the company to spend more on R&D and increase production of VCSELs. With the money, Finisar will open a new factory in the town of Sherman in the American state of Texas, creating about five hundred new jobs. The factory should be able to supply VCSELs from the second half of 2018.
Apple says it will only buy VCSELs from Finisar that are made in Texas. Finisar already has factories in Malaysia and China. It is not excluded that Apple still works with other suppliers for the lasers it uses for Face ID.
Currently, Apple only puts the Face ID laser in the iPhone X, which doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner. Perhaps the investment means more Face ID devices are on the way and Apple wants to increase production capacity.
In July, US President Trump said Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised to build three major factories in the US. Perhaps the arrival of the new factory in Texas is part of this. The amount Apple is investing in Finisar comes from the $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which is intended for investments in American manufacturers. In May, Corning, maker of protective glass, received a $200 million investment from Apple.
A wafer from Finisar with vcsel’s