When copper hits its physical limits, light takes over. That’s the fundamental principle behind silicon photonics, the technology that will define data center architecture for the next decade. And on Monday, GlobalFoundries just made a bold bet that it will be the company manufacturing those light-based chips at scale.
GlobalFoundries announced it has acquired Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF), Singapore’s specialist silicon photonics foundry, in a deal that establishes GF as the world’s largest pure-play silicon photonics manufacturer by revenue.
The company did not disclose financial terms, but the strategic intent is unmistakable. Secure dominance in the technology that will connect tomorrow’s AI data centers.The acquisition isn’t just about buying manufacturing capacity. It’s about securing intellectual property, talent, and a decade-plus of proven expertise in a field where execution is everything.
Data centers are hitting a wall. GPUs and AI accelerators are consuming more power than ever, and copper interconnects are reaching their physical limits. They’re slow, power-hungry, and inefficient at the scale AI demands.
Silicon photonics offers something fundamentally different. Instead of using electrical signals through copper wires, it uses pulses of light through optical interconnects. The result? Ultra-fast data transfer at significantly lower power consumption, lower latency, and reduced heat generation. For data centers operating thousands of GPUs simultaneously, this isn’t a marginal improvement. It’s an infrastructure-level transformation.
“As data moves faster and workloads grow more complex, the ability to move information with greater speed, precision and power efficiency is now fundamental to AI data centers and advanced telecom networks,” GlobalFoundries CEO Tim Breen said in a statement. And he’s right. This isn’t theoretical anymore. Nvidia is working with TSMC on optical connections for its networking chips.
Well-funded startups like Ayar Labs (which raised $155 million in Series D from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel), Lightmatter ($400 million Series D), and Celestial AI are all racing to bring photonic solutions to market. The race is on. GlobalFoundries just moved to win it.
The AMF Play
Advanced Micro Foundry isn’t a startup gambling on an unproven technology. It’s the world’s first dedicated silicon photonics foundry, spun off from Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in 2017. Over 15 years of manufacturing expertise, global customer base, extensive intellectual property, and about 250 skilled employees.
More importantly, AMF has proven execution. The company has successfully manufactured optical chips for telecom, data center, LiDAR, sensing, and quantum computing applications. PsiQuantum, which is building a quantum computer in Chicago, relies on AMF’s photonic chips. The company’s customer base spans Silicon Valley startups and established semiconductor players.
Acquiring AMF gives GlobalFoundries instant credibility and production-ready facilities. AMF currently operates on 200mm wafer platforms with plans to scale to 300mm as market demand grows. The company already has customers in production, revenue flowing, and a track record of delivery. That’s something money alone can’t buy.
This acquisition positions GlobalFoundries at the intersection of three massive trends. AI infrastructure build-out, optical networking expansion, and the need for geographically distributed semiconductor supply chains.
With this deal, GF gains complementary capabilities. The company already had strength in “scale out and scale up” optical networking, the short and mid-range communications within data centers. AMF brings expertise in “scale across,” long-haul optical communications. Together, they cover the full spectrum of optical networking solutions.
Geographically, it’s equally strategic. GlobalFoundries is expanding U.S. manufacturing capacity for silicon photonics in New York. Now, with Singapore in its portfolio, the company has production facilities on two continents. For customers worried about supply chain concentration, this matters enormously. For customers seeking geopolitical diversification, this is essential.
And there’s a third angle. Singapore itself. The nation has invested over $1 billion in semiconductor R&D and is positioning itself as a critical node in the global chip supply chain. By acquiring AMF and committing to establish a silicon photonics research center of excellence in Singapore (in partnership with A*STAR), GlobalFoundries signals long-term commitment to the region.
Competitive Landscape and What It Means
GlobalFoundries isn’t alone in recognizing silicon photonics as critical. Intel is investing in chip-to-chip optical I/O. Nvidia is working with TSMC on optical packaging. But GF has an advantage. It’s already manufacturing photonic chips for multiple well-funded startups, and now it’s the largest pure-play foundry by revenue.
That gives GF negotiating power. When startups and chip manufacturers need silicon photonics production, GF is increasingly the default choice.
The acquisition accelerates the timeline for bringing optical interconnects to mainstream data centers. AMF’s production capacity, combined with GlobalFoundries’ global manufacturing footprint and customer relationships, means photonic solutions will scale faster.
Data centers will transition from copper to optical interconnects sooner. AI infrastructure will become more efficient. For companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom, this opens new design possibilities.
For data center operators, it means access to chips that reduce power consumption and increase bandwidth. For GlobalFoundries, it means cementing leadership in one of semiconductor’s fastest-growing segments. Silicon photonics wasn’t supposed to matter until 2027-2028. But the AI boom accelerated the timeline. GF just made sure it won’t be caught unprepared.
