GlobalFoundries says its planned FDX Fusion process targets a gate density of 14 million gates per square millimeter, which it describes as 8nm-class. The company uses “7nm-class” for a separate power-and-performance target. In a November 6, 2026 interview, GlobalFoundries vice president Sudipto Bose said initial customer production was targeted for 2028, with high-volume manufacturing targeted for 2030.
What the FDX Fusion targets mean
FDX Fusion is a planned fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) process platform using planar transistors. Bose described its target density as 14 million gates/mm², or 2.2 times the digital gate density of GlobalFoundries’ 22FDX and 22FDX+ processes. He uses 7nm-class to describe power and performance, not gate density.
Against current-generation FDX, GlobalFoundries targets 30% higher performance at the same power, or 40% lower power at the same performance, with adaptive body biasing included. Bose also gave a target of at least a 20% improvement for a standard core. These goals depend on the application; they are targets for the planned platform.
FDX Fusion’s “8nm-class” label describes its density target; “7nm-class” describes its power-and-performance goal.
The company plans to combine digital logic with analog, mixed-signal, embedded-memory and high-performance radio-frequency capabilities. Bose also said the process would not use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, though new manufacturing tools would still be required.
The applications GlobalFoundries has in mind
Bose named connectivity chips for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular and satellite communications, along with edge microcontrollers that can run inference, automotive radar, and edge vision and voice processing. These uses draw on the platform’s planned mix of digital, analog, memory and radio-frequency functions.
For data centers, Bose described connectivity and signal-path circuits that carry or amplify signals to compute chips. He did not identify data-center CPUs as an initial target for FDX Fusion.
The planned development and production milestones
Bose outlined three targets for the design and manufacturing roadmap:
| Timing | Milestone |
| Mid-2027 | Initial process design kit (PDK) planned |
| 2028 | Initial customer production targeted |
| 2030 | High-volume manufacturing targeted |
Bose said customers had committed to building chips, with production dependent on GlobalFoundries delivering parts to their specifications. The milestone years are company targets, and the high-volume manufacturing target depends on the first applications and customers.
The Dresden development plan has a separate condition. In its October 9, 2026 announcement, GlobalFoundries said the start of FDX Fusion development work at GF Dresden depended on German federal approval of the IPCEI Advanced Semiconductor Technologies project.
