Tower and Japan plan $4 billion optical chip expansion

Tower Semiconductor and Japan's government plan to invest a combined $4 billion in Japanese factories that make chips for optical connections, Tom's Hardware reports. Tower plans to contribute $3 billion and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry $1 billion. Tower intends to convert an idle factory for silicon photonics and optical packaging, expand production at an existing 300mm factory, and build another nearby. It expects the first stage to reach full production readiness in the fourth quarter of 2027 and Japanese capacity to reach the equivalent of 45,000 300mm wafers a month in 2029. The expansion is planned; Tower also says competitors are ahead in packaging optics close to computing chips.