Anderon Extends IBM’s Semiconductor Legacy To Quantum Foundry Services

Over the past few decades, the semiconductor foundry model transformed the traditional semiconductor industry by allowing companies to develop innovative chip designs without making the enormous investments required to develop and manufacture advanced semiconductor processes. Now, IBM and the U.S. government are betting that the same model can accelerate the emerging quantum computing industry.

Members of the Tirias Research team have consulted for IBM, GlobalFoundries, and companies throughout the quantum computing ecosystem.

IBM’s newly formed Anderon subsidiary has finalized an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $1 billion award under the CHIPS and Science Act to accelerate the development of quantum wafer manufacturing in the United States. IBM is matching the government commitment with another $1 billion investment in Anderon, along with intellectual property, manufacturing assets, and personnel.

More important than the funding is the business model Anderon is trying to establish: a specialized 300mm foundry that can manufacture quantum wafers for IBM as well as outside customers. This could prove to be one of the most important infrastructure investments in the emerging quantum industry.

Leveraging IBM’s Semiconductor Expertise

Anderon is a new company, but the manufacturing expertise behind it is not. IBM was an integrated semiconductor manufacturer for decades, developing and producing many of the processors used in PCs, servers, mainframes, and other systems. IBM combined semiconductor manufacturing with one of the industry’s most influential semiconductor research organizations.

The Importance of Albany NanoTech

By utilizing Albany NanoTech, Anderon can leverage decades of investment in facilities, equipment, process technology, and an established semiconductor ecosystem rather than building a new fab from the ground up.