GlobalFoundries celebrated the topping-out of its SPRINT expansion project at its Dresden site on October 9, 2026, marking a key construction milestone in one of Europe's most significant semiconductor expansion projects.

The company marked the occasion by also announcing FDX Fusion, a next-generation chip platform planned for development and manufacturing at the Dresden location.

Topping-out milestone reached in Dresden

Representatives from Exyte, the general contractor for the project, attended the topping-out ceremony. Mark Vokes, Project Director at Exyte, said the ceremony demonstrated that Exyte, together with GlobalFoundries and its partners, is advancing the significant expansion of semiconductor manufacturing capacity according to plan.

He noted that SPRINT is expanding the complex cleanroom and manufacturing infrastructure while the existing facility remains fully operational.

According to the company, the on-schedule and on-budget completion of this construction phase allows GlobalFoundries to continue the remaining work in both the existing facility and the expansion as planned.

USD 1.23 billion investment to boost capacity past one million wafers

Under the SPRINT expansion project, GlobalFoundries is investing USD 1.23 billion to expand manufacturing capacity at the Dresden site. The project is expected to increase annual production capacity to more than one million 300 mm wafers by the end of 2028, a level that would make Dresden Europe's largest foundry site.

The additional capacity is intended to support GlobalFoundries' differentiated technologies for automotive, aerospace, industrial IoT, and defense applications, markets the company describes as increasingly shaped by Physical AI.

The expansion is also set to enable GlobalFoundries to offer Europe-only processes and data flows for customers with stringent security requirements, including critical infrastructure and aerospace customers.

GlobalFoundries currently employs around 3,000 people in Dresden and operates approximately 60,000 square meters of cleanroom and laboratory space, with an annual production capacity of up to 950,000 300 mm wafers depending on the product mix.

Since 2009, the company has invested more than USD 11.21 billion in Dresden, making it one of the largest industrial investments in Germany.

The SPRINT project is supported by the European Union, the German federal government, and the Free State of Saxony within the framework of the European Chips Act and forms part of Europe's broader effort to strengthen semiconductor supply chains and industrial competitiveness.

FDX Fusion: a next-generation platform for Physical AI

Alongside the construction milestone, GlobalFoundries announced plans to develop and manufacture FDX Fusion in Dresden, the next generation of its fully depleted silicon-on-insulator technology.

Designed for demanding Physical AI applications, the platform targets 7 nm-like digital performance combined with analog, mixed-signal, embedded-memory, and high-performance RF capabilities.

GlobalFoundries said the platform is intended to enable energy-efficient processing, sensing, real-time control, and secure connectivity within a single technology.

The company noted that GF Dresden intends to pursue the technology's development through the upcoming IPCEI Advanced Semiconductor Technologies (AST) program, subject to German federal government approval.

The company clarified that the actual start of FDX Fusion development work is contingent upon the federal government's approval of the IPCEI AST project start for GF Dresden.

Company leadership on Europe's semiconductor needs

Tim Breen, CEO of GlobalFoundries, said Europe's industrial base depends on chips that have to be available, trusted and built close to the customers who rely on them.

He said SPRINT expands that capacity in Dresden while giving customers a path to the next generation of energy-efficient computing for Physical AI, reinforcing GlobalFoundries' role as a trusted partner in the industries that matter most to Europe.

Dr. Manfred Horstmann, General Manager and Senior Vice President at GlobalFoundries, said that with SPRINT the company is not simply adding cleanroom space but investing in Germany's future as an industrial and innovation location, in resilient European supply chains, and in secure and reliable access to differentiated semiconductor technologies.

He added that, together with its partners, the company is extending its ability to serve customers and their demanding markets from Dresden.

About GlobalFoundries

GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ: GFS) describes itself as a leading manufacturer of essential semiconductors, enabling AI at scale from the cloud to the physical world.

Through partnerships with customers, the company delivers differentiated, power-efficient, and high-performance solutions for automotive, aerospace and defense, data center, smart mobile devices, internet of things, and other high-growth markets.

With manufacturing operations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, the company positions itself as a technology partner focused on security, longevity, and sustainability.

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