Taiwan’s UMC in pact with Polar to explore US production of eight-inch chip

By Wen-Yee Lee

TAIPEI, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Taiwan chip maker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) said on ​Thursday it had signed a memorandum ‌of understanding with U.S.-based Polar Semiconductor to explore collaboration on ‌manufacturing of 8-inch wafers in the United States.

In a statement, UMC said the companies would identify products to be made at Polar’s recently ⁠expanded 8-inch fab ‌in Minnesota, meeting demand from industries such as automobiles, data centres, consumer ‍electronics, and aerospace and defence.

The partnership combines Polar’s U.S. manufacturing capabilities with UMC’s 8-inch technology portfolio and ​global customer base, and could support customers’ ‌multi-sourcing strategies, the companies said.

The collaboration would help bolster U.S. 8-inch wafer manufacturing and boost supply-chain resilience amid shifting geopolitics, they added.

“This partnership is aligned with Polar’s strategy to meet ⁠the growing demand for domestic ​manufacturing,” said Ken Obuszewski, ​Polar’s vice president of marketing.

It “directly addresses our customers’ needs for more made-in-USA chips,” ‍added Oliver ⁠Chang, UMC’s senior vice president of global sales.

Taiwan’s second-largest contract chipmaker after TSMC, UMC ⁠has most of its fabs in Taiwan, with facilities in ‌Japan and Singapore.

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; ‌Editing by Clarence Fernandez)