Last year, Powerchip entered a partnership with Japanese finance company SBI Holdings to start construction this year on a 40k wpm fab in Sendai, Japan starting on 40nm technology and moving on to 28nm with volume production scheduled for 2027.
Powerchip and SBI have now dissolved the partnership as Powerchip pursues a plan to provide the technology for a fab to be built in India by Tata.
SBI Holdings says it is now looking for a new partner with whom to build the fab in Sendai and also establish a backend operation.
Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata (pictured right) and Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (pictured left) when, said Modi; “PSMC expressed enthusiasm to further expand its footprint in India.”
Powerchip and Tata agreed to cooperate on a fab in Gujarat, India with Tata providing the money – $10.9 billion – and Powerchip providing the process technology. It will start making PMICs and display drivers.
Powerchip has reported operating losses for the five consecutive quarters up to Q2 2024.
