Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation and Denso Corporation, on Tuesday announced that the latter will take a minority stake in Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing JASM, with a $0.35 billion investment.
JASM is TSMC's majority-owned manufacturing subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, which is by far the world's leading dedicated semiconductor foundry.
According to a press statement from Denso, with this equity investment, it will hold a more than 10% equity stake in JASM.
Construction of JASM's fab in Japan is scheduled to begin in the 2022 calendar year, with production targeted to commence by the end of 2024. To support market demand, TSMC will also enhance JASM's capabilities with 12/16 nanometer FinFET process technology in addition to the previously announced 22/28 nanometer process and increase monthly production capacity to 55,000 12-inch wafers. With the additional capacity, the total capital expenditure for JASM's Kumamoto fab is estimated to be approximately $8.6 billion with support from the Japanese government, the statement said.
Dr CC Wei, Chief Executive Officer, TSMC, said JASM is not only an opportunity for TSMC to support growing market demand for speciality technologies, but it also enables the company to leverage Japan's top-notch semiconductor talent and contribute to the growth of the global semiconductor ecosystem.'
Terushi Shimizu, President and CEO, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, said, 'While the global demand for semiconductors is expected to grow, we expect JASM to contribute to securing a stable supply of logic wafers, not only for us but also the overall industry.'
Semiconductors are becoming increasingly important in the automotive industry as mobility technologies evolve, including automated driving and electrification, Koji Arima, President and CEO, Denso, said. 'Through this partnership, we contribute to the stable supply of semiconductors over the medium to long term and thus to the automotive industry,' Arima added.