A Two-Partner Foundry Venture in Singapore

VSMC was formed as a joint venture between Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation, the Taiwan-based specialty foundry operator, and NXP Semiconductors N.V., the Dutch automotive and industrial chip supplier. The partnership was established in September 2024 with the aim of building manufacturing capacity on 300 mm wafers in Singapore.

The newly opened fab in the Tampines district is the venture's first 12-inch (300 mm) production facility. The move to 300 mm wafers allows more chips per wafer compared with smaller substrate sizes, a common step for foundries seeking greater output efficiency.

What the Opening Means

The Tampines facility gives both parent companies access to dedicated 300 mm capacity. For NXP, the venture supports supply of chips serving automotive and industrial customers, while Vanguard extends its foundry manufacturing footprint beyond Taiwan into Southeast Asia.

Singapore has in recent years drawn continued investment in semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure, and the Tampines fab adds a new 300 mm site to the city-state's production landscape. Details on production timelines, capacity volumes and process technologies were not included in the information available for this report.

The grand opening marks the transition of the VSMC project from establishment to operation, with the joint venture's first 12-inch fab now officially inaugurated in Tampines. The claim that VSMC marked the grand opening of its first 12-inch fab in Singapore is True.