Abu Dhabi to take on Intel, TSMC with chip foundry

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Mubadala, the government-owned investment vehicle which owns a stake in Advanced Micro Devices, plans to manufacture chips in the Gulf Arab state in a bid to steal market share from industry leaders. "In four years, you will see the first foundry in Abu Dhabi," Mubadala Chief Operating Officer Waleed Al Muhairi said at an energy conference in the United Arab Emirates' capital.

Muhairi said USD 10 billion had already been committed to the business through Globalfoundries, a contract chip maker which is co-owned by AMD and Abu Dhabi investor Advanced Technology Investment Co.

Mubadala is the biggest shareholder in AMD, which currently produces about 20% of global output. "We will be No 2 in two years," Muhairi said. "It is an industry changing move to create, at home, this business. We want to compete with Intel."

Last week, shareholders of Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor approved a USD 1.8 billion takeover bid from ATIC, a deal that may enable Globalfoundries to get the customers and technology it needs to compete against global leaders like Taiwan's TSMC. 

Other major chipmakers include Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor Corporation and Nvidia Corporation.