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Globalfoundries and IBM He owns Solve it All of their legal disputes, including ongoing lawsuits over contract violations, trade secrets, and intellectual property issues. The two companies signed a confidential settlement agreement, opening the door to future cooperation.
IBM and GlobalFoundries have filed multiple lawsuits against each other. The lawsuits range from breach of contract obligations by GlobalFoundries to use of intellectual property by IBM. The conflict dates back to 2015 when IBM sold its semiconductor manufacturing business to GlobalFoundries. As part of the deal, IBM agreed to pay $1.5 billion for GlobalFoundries to take over its microelectronics operations and will continue to develop advanced process technologies for IBM processors for mainframes and other applications.
However, GlobalFoundries stopped developing advanced production nodes in 2018, as it did not have enough notable customers to justify multi-billion-dollar investments. As a result, it did not have the 7nm process technology to make IBM Z processors meet its partner’s needs. As a result, IBM alleged that GlobalFoundries failed to deliver on its promises in 2021. IBM claimed that the semiconductor manufacturer left IBM without the high-performance processors needed for its mainframes and sought compensation for damages and the negative impact on its business.
In 2023, GlobalFoundries filed its lawsuit, accusing IBM of disclosing sensitive intellectual property to third parties, including Intel and Rapidus. The IP was related to next-generation processing technologies and was developed in collaboration with GlobalFoundries, so according to the company, IBM did not have the right to share it after selling its microelectronics unit. The chipmaker argued that IBM could benefit from licensing technologies it no longer owns by disclosing intellectual property.
After years of conflict, the two companies announced a settlement this week. While the terms of the agreement remain confidential, both IBM and GlobalFoundries have expressed interest in moving forward and exploring potential areas of collaboration.
“We are pleased to have reached a positive resolution with IBM, and look forward to new opportunities to build on our long-standing partnership to further advance the semiconductor industry,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, President and CEO of GF.
“Resolving these disputes is an important step forward for our companies and will allow us to focus on future innovations that will benefit our organizations and our customers,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM.
