NEW YORK: IBM and GlobalFoundries have reached a settlement in their ongoing legal disputes, which involved accusations from both sides regarding contract violations and the misuse of trade secrets. The companies announced the resolution on Thursday, stating that the terms of the settlement are confidential but will allow them to “explore new opportunities for collaboration.”
The conflict began in 2021 when IBM sued GlobalFoundries, claiming the chipmaker had breached a $1.5 billion contract to produce high-performance chips. IBM argued that GlobalFoundries failed to meet its contractual obligations, which was a significant blow to the tech giant’s semiconductor efforts.
GlobalFoundries, in turn, filed a lawsuit against IBM in 2023, alleging that IBM had misappropriated its chipmaking trade secrets. The chipmaker accused IBM of sharing these secrets with partners such as Intel and the Japanese consortium Rapidus during joint ventures, a claim that IBM denied.
The settlement ends a contentious legal battle that has attracted significant attention in the tech and semiconductor industries. GlobalFoundries, which operates out of Malta, N.Y., and is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, had also received a major boost earlier in 2023 when the U.S. Commerce Department awarded the company $1.5 billion to expand its semiconductor production facilities in New York and Vermont.
While representatives from both Intel and Rapidus did not immediately comment on the settlement, the resolution could pave the way for renewed cooperation between IBM and GlobalFoundries, both key players in the global semiconductor market.
