Rumor: Foxconn is considering building two of its own chip manufacturing fabs

Foxconn Electronics has established a semiconductor division, according to sources from Taiwanese Digitimes. That new department would consider building two facilities for chip production on 300mm wafers.

The Taiwanese newspaper cites “industry sources” who report that the new business unit is already active and that certain parts of Foxconn now operate under it. This concerns, for example, Foxsemicon Integrated Technology, which makes equipment for chip production.

According to the sources, Foxconn is considering setting up two fabs for chip production on 300mm wafers. All well-known chip manufacturers are also currently working with wafers of that size. There are no details about the production facilities and Foxconn says it will not respond to rumors. Setting up such fabs costs billions of euros. Foxconn is currently conducting a feasibility study.

Foxconn is, among other things, known as a producer of Apple iPhones. It is the world’s largest hardware maker that makes products on behalf of manufacturers. Foxconn has never produced chips itself, but the Taiwanese company tried to get its hands on Toshiba’s nand memory division last year. Foxconn would have paid 25 billion euros for this.