Three major industry players – France’s Thales Group, connector maker Radiall and Taiwanese giant Foxconn – have started talks to jointly build an advanced microchip assembly and testing facility in France. The project focuses on outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) services, a crucial final step in the chip manufacturing chain.
In this process, chips previously manufactured in wafer form are cut, assembled into assemblies and rigorously tested to ensure quality and reliability. As chips become smaller and more complex, this stage is becoming crucial for the efficiency and safety of the final products, which is why more and more manufacturers are looking to external partners for finishing.
The planned factory would have a capacity of over 100 million microchip assemblies (SiP – system-in-package) per year by 2031, significantly strengthening Europe’s position in the global semiconductor industry. Although the specific location has not yet been confirmed, the total investment is expected to exceed 250 million euros.
Thales points out that the goal of the project is to encourage other European industrial players to get involved, which would further accelerate the development of the local technological infrastructure. The new facility also represents an important step towards the strategic goal of the European Union – strengthening technological autonomy in relation to the USA, China and other world powers.
Support for such initiatives has already been announced by the European Investment Bank, whose president Nadia Calviño is planning a new fund for AI and chips worth 70 billion euros by 2027. The EU's long-term goal is to attract as much as 250 billion euros of investment in key technologies and thereby ensure the competitiveness of European industry in the coming decades.