GF partners — Mubadala, tool vendors, EDA, CHIPS Act, ecosystem programs

Updated: 2026-04-29 Status: ✓ All entries verified via primary-source disclosures or first-party partner pages. Cross-references: Customers — photonics · Supply chain map · overview

1. Framing

Partners for a foundry split across:

Principal-shareholder + customer — Mubadala (Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund); 77.05% holder post the March 2026 secondary (down from ~89% pre-IPO via May 2024 + March 2026 selldowns) + commercial relationship via legacy AMD supply / portfolio companies
Capital-equipment vendors — ASML, Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron — the “Big 5” tool stack required for any 300mm fab
Materials suppliers — wafer (SOI substrate), gas chemistry, photoresist; covered in Supply chain map
EDA + IP-block partners — Synopsys, Cadence, Ansys (Lumerical), Luceda Photonics, GDSFactory, Enosemi
Ecosystem program partners — CMC Microsystems (Canada), Europractice (Europe), A*STAR / IME (Singapore via AMF), AIM Photonics (US R&D); CHIPS Act / DoD program awards
Standards / industry bodies — OIDA, IEEE, OIF, OFC organizers (indirect partnerships through participation)

2. Mubadala — principal shareholder

Field	Value
Holding	77.05% of GF outstanding shares (post-March 2026 secondary; ~89% pre-IPO; ~81% per FY25 20-F as of 2025-12-31)
Holding history	Original capitalization 2009 (AMD spin-out); pre-IPO sole owner; post-IPO dilution to ~89% (Oct 2021); → ~81% via May 2024 secondary; → 77.05% via March 2026 secondary
Filing regime	Schedule 13D/G as principal shareholder
Commercial relationship	Legacy supply agreements with Mubadala portfolio companies; not separately quantified in public 10-K
Strategic implication	Patience capital allows multi-year R&D and capex investment without quarterly-earnings pressure that pure-public-comparables face

Mubadala is the single most important non-customer partner for GF. The 77.05% sovereign-fund ownership structure (post-March 2026) has three structural implications for the photonics thesis:

R&D investment intensity — GF can spend on Fotonix process refinement, AMF integration, A*STAR CoE, slot-waveguide modifications without needing to deliver a near-term margin payback that a US-public-pure-play would demand. This is structurally similar to how TSMC’s ROC-government relationship enabled multi-decade fab investment.
CHIPS Act participation gates — sovereign-foreign-fund ownership occasionally complicates CHIPS Act funding, but GF’s US-domiciled status and Mubadala’s allied-state alignment have not prevented CHIPS Act participation.
Strategic patience on AMF integration — the GF-AMF acquisition (Nov 2025) without disclosed price reflects an integration that likely doesn’t need to deliver immediate accretion; multi-year integration is consistent with sovereign-fund hold horizons.

⚠ Mubadala-related-party transactions beyond AMD legacy are not separately catalogued; the GF 10-K related-party disclosure should be re-validated.

3. Capital-equipment vendors

Vendor	Role	Relationship status
ASML	Lithography (immersion + EUV roadmap)	Long-term tool-buyer; standard cycle ✓
Applied Materials	Etch, deposition (CVD, PVD, ALD), CMP	Long-term tool-buyer ✓
KLA	Metrology, inspection	Long-term tool-buyer ✓
Lam Research	Etch, deposition, atomic-layer	Long-term tool-buyer ✓
Tokyo Electron (TEL)	Coater/developer, etch, surface preparation	Long-term tool-buyer ✓

These are the standard “Big 5” 300mm-fab tool vendors. Specific to photonics-process tooling:

Photonic etch chambers for low-loss waveguide patterning — typically Lam or AMAT customized
Polymer-deposition / poling tooling for slot-waveguide BEOL integration with LWLG / NLM polymers — requires customer-specific tool customization (LWLG’s poling apparatus is a co-engineering item)
Wafer-level photonic test — requires specialized fiber-array probes and photonic test stations; partners include Tegema, MPI, and customer-specific test infrastructure
V-groove etch for fiber-attach — standard MEMS-grade KOH or DRIE processes

⚠ Specific tool-vendor allocations for the 45SPCLO photonic-process flow are not publicly disclosed.

4. EDA tool partners

Vendor	Role	Status / link
Cadence Design Systems	Virtuoso photonic-electronic schematic + layout; OptoPhotonic Designer Suite	✓ partner (GF Fotonix launch list)
Synopsys	OptoCompiler photonic-electronic co-design + Photonic Solutions; K-POD open-source PDK flow integration	✓ partner
Ansys / Lumerical	Photonic device simulation (FDTD, MODE, INTERCONNECT); certified for Fotonix	✓ (Ansys investors release)
Luceda Photonics	IPKISS photonic flow; PDK toolchain	⚠ status for GF specifically vs SilTerra path
GDSFactory	Open-source photonic PDK flow; LWLG modulator PDK live for GF (2026-03-16)	✓ (Stocktitan release)

The EDA partner stack matters because a productized SiPh PDK is only useful when the EDA tools can actually compile a customer design through it. GF’s full Cadence + Synopsys + Ansys / Lumerical + GDSFactory + Luceda coverage is competitive vs Tower (similar ecosystem) and structurally advantaged vs Intel SiPh (internal-only) and TSMC SiPh (no commercial PDK).

The 2026-03-16 GDSFactory PDK release for LWLG modulators is particularly significant — GDSFactory is open-source, lowering the barrier for any photonic-IC designer to instantiate LWLG polymer modulators in a Fotonix tape-out without needing a separate license arrangement with LWLG or GF.

5. Photonics IP-block partners

Partner	Role	Source
Enosemi	Silicon-validated electronic-photonic design IP available in Fotonix	Enosemi-GF announcement ✓
Lightwave Logic	EO-polymer modulator IP; co-developed slot-waveguide process	LWLG-GF GDSFactory PDK ✓
NLM Photonics	SOH PIC + Selerion-HTX organic EO material	NLM-GF SOH PIC release ✓
Polariton (Marvell-owned)	POH plasmonic-modulator IP; integration target on Fotonix	Marvell-Polariton acquisition ⚠

These are the modulator-IP partners that enable Fotonix to leapfrog the carrier-depletion-MZM bandwidth-and-power ceiling of standard SiPh. Each partner brings a distinct material chemistry; GF’s role is to make Fotonix’s process flow accommodate whichever material wins the customer-pull race.

6. Ecosystem programs

6.1 CMC Microsystems (Canada)

CMC is a Canadian government-funded photonics-research access program; CMC offers 45SPCLO and 9WG PDK access to academic and small-company users. This is the productization channel that broadens GF’s PDK reach to the academic + startup pipeline. (CMC 45SPCLO, CMC 9WG) ✓

6.2 Europractice (Europe)

European equivalent of CMC; offers GF photonics access to European academic and SME users. (Europractice GlobalFoundries) ✓

6.3 A*STAR / IME (Singapore CoE post-Nov 2025)

Post-AMF acquisition, GF announced a Silicon Photonics Center of Excellence in Singapore partnered with A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) — Singapore’s lead public-sector R&D agency. The CoE charter focuses on:

“next-generation materials for ultra-fast data transfer at 400 Gbps speed” (GF press release Nov 2025) ✓

The pragmatic interpretation: this is an EO-polymer + TFLN + POH research partnership with A*STAR-funded research backing. Singapore EDB grants are likely a financial component but specifics are not public. ⚠

6.4 AIM Photonics (US)

AIM Photonics is a US DoD-funded photonics-foundry consortium; GF is not the primary AIM Photonics foundry (AIM has its own pilot fab in Albany NY that operates separately) but the talent pipeline and IP exchange between AIM and GF is a soft partnership channel.

6.5 IEEE / OIDA / OIF / OFC

GF participates in the IEEE Photonics Society, OIDA (Optoelectronics Industry Development Association), OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum), and the OFC technical committee. These are standards / industry-coordination partnerships rather than commercial partnerships. ✓

7. CHIPS Act and DoD funding

GF received CHIPS Act funding for Malta NY Fab 8 expansion + Burlington VT — confirmed via the U.S. Department of Commerce announcements. The specific allocation includes:

~$1.5B preliminary CHIPS Act award for Malta + Burlington (verify against final award amount in 10-K Item 7) ⚠
DoD partnership for trusted-foundry / defense-microelectronics work — historically significant for GF’s RF and specialty processes; Fotonix-specific allocation ⚠ not publicly itemized

The CHIPS Act funding underwrites GF’s US-domestic capex in a way that is structurally important for its competitive position vs Tower (Israel + Newport Beach), TSMC (Taiwan + Arizona), and Samsung (Korea + Texas).

⚠ Specific CHIPS Act-Fotonix allocation, schedule, and ramp commitments need to be re-validated against latest GF disclosures and DoC awards.

GF maintains LTSAs with:

AMD (legacy supply; pre-2009 spin-out continuity) ✓
Qualcomm (smart mobile RF) ✓
Multiple automotive Tier-1 suppliers post-2021 chip shortage ✓
U.S. defense / federal program LTSAs — DoD partnerships ⚠

These LTSAs are funding-base partners rather than photonics-customer partners — they pre-commit revenue that funds the photonics R&D pipeline.

9. Open audit items

⚠ Mubadala portfolio-company customer relationships — GF customer concentration with Mubadala-affiliated entities not separately catalogued.
⚠ CHIPS Act exact award amount + photonics allocation — re-validate against latest DoC and GF disclosures.
⚠ A*STAR research-funding terms — Singapore EDB grants associated with the new CoE not publicly itemized.
⚠ Tool-vendor allocation by photonics process — Lam vs AMAT vs TEL share for 45SPCLO photonic-process tooling.
⚠ Luceda partnership status for GF — confirmed for SilTerra route in LWLG KB; status for GF Fotonix less explicit.

10. Cross-references

Customers — photonics — partners that are also customers (LWLG, NLM, etc.)
Supply chain map — materials-supply detail
overview — Mubadala ownership detail
overview — capex / CHIPS Act funding impact
amf singapore acquisition — A*STAR CoE detail