GlobalFoundries Marks Dresden Plant Milestone, Unveils FDX Fusion Platform for Physical AI in Germany

GlobalFoundries celebrated two milestones at its Dresden site on October 9, 2026: the topping-out ceremony of its USD 1.23 billion SPRINT expansion project and the announcement of FDX Fusion, a next-generation platform for highly integrated, energy-efficient chips designed for demanding Physical AI applications.

The company said the combined advances reinforce its commitment to secure, locally developed and manufactured technologies and advance one of Europe's most significant semiconductor expansion projects.

SPRINT Expansion on Track

Under the SPRINT expansion project, GlobalFoundries is investing USD 1.23 billion to expand manufacturing capacity at its 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 GF's differentiated technologies for automotive, aerospace, industrial IoT, and defense applications, markets the company describes as increasingly shaped by Physical AI.

The topping-out ceremony marked an important construction milestone, with the project described as on schedule and on budget.

Mark Vokes, Project Director at Exyte, the project's general contractor, said the ceremony demonstrated that Exyte, together with GlobalFoundries and its partners, is advancing the expansion according to plan.

According to the company, SPRINT is expanding the complex cleanroom and manufacturing infrastructure while the existing facility remains fully operational. The completion of this construction phase allows GlobalFoundries to continue remaining work in both the existing facility and the expansion as planned.

Executives Frame the Investment

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

"SPRINT expands that capacity in Dresden while giving customers a path to the next generation of energy-efficient computing for Physical AI," he said, adding that the project reinforces GF's 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.

"We are investing in Germany's future as an industrial and innovation location, in resilient European supply chains as well as secure and reliable access to differentiated semiconductor technologies," he said.

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

FDX Fusion Targets Physical AI

At the ceremony, GF also announced plans to develop and manufacture FDX Fusion, its next generation of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator technology, in Dresden. The platform targets 7 nm-like digital performance combined with analog, mixed-signal, embedded-memory, and high-performance RF capabilities.

According to the company, FDX Fusion is intended to enable energy-efficient processing, sensing, real-time control, and secure connectivity within a single technology and is designed for demanding Physical AI applications.

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 noted 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.

Dresden's Growing Footprint

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

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

Context: A Busy Week for GF

The Dresden announcement comes amid a series of recent company developments.

On October 8, 2026, GlobalFoundries announced it had reached an agreement to establish a U.S.-based supply of silicon interposers for advanced AI packaging.

On October 6, 2026, the company and Xanadu announced a strategic partnership to accelerate utility-scale quantum manufacturing.

On October 9, the same day as the Dresden ceremony, GF also unveiled a roadmap to deliver what it described as the world's most advanced FD-SOI platform for Physical AI.

GlobalFoundries describes itself as a leading manufacturer of essential semiconductors, enabling AI at scale from the cloud to the physical world, delivering differentiated, power-efficient, and high-performance solutions for automotive, aerospace, and defense; data center; smart mobile devices; the internet of things; and other high-growth markets, with manufacturing operations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.