Bosch wants to acquire American chipmaker TSI Semiconductors

Bosch wants to acquire American chipmaker TSI Semiconductors, the company announced on Tuesday. Bosch plans to invest $1.5 billion in the chipmaker in the coming years. Bosch will thus expand its production of silicon carbide chips.

Bosch and TSI do not mention a specific amount before the takeover. Bosch says it will invest $1.5 billion in TSI Semiconductors in the coming years as part of the acquisition. The company wants to upgrade the TSI factory in Roseville, California. This investment should make the factory suitable for the production of ‘state of the art’ production techniques. It will be the ‘third pillar’ of the company, in addition to its locations in Dresden and Reutlingen.

Production should start from 2026 in the renovated TSI Semiconductors factory, Bosch writes. From then on, the company wants to produce silicon carbide chips on 200mm wafers. Silicon carbide is used, among other things, for chips intended for power electronics and used in electric cars, among other things. The factory has approximately 10,000 square meters of cleanroom space.

According to Bosch, the investment in the TSI Semiconductors chip factory is ‘very dependent on government financing’. The company is referring to subsidies from the state of California and federal support. The latter must be done through the American chip law, which was introduced last year and frees up billions of dollars in subsidies for the chip sector.

The acquisition must still be approved by regulators before it becomes final. It is not known when that will happen. Bosch does not indicate when it expects to complete the acquisition.

Source: Bosch