SkyWater Austin (Fab 25): Vendor Guide for the $93 Million Pure Play Foundry

SkyWater Technology completed the acquisition of Infineon's Austin fab on June 30, 2025, for $73 million at close plus approximately $20 million for working capital. The facility, known as Fab 25, is a 200mm wafer fabrication plant producing chips on nodes from 130nm to 65nm. SkyWater operates it as a pure play foundry. For vendors, this is the newest foundry operator in the Texas semiconductor corridor, with a fresh organizational structure and a business model that depends on attracting and serving external customers rather than manufacturing for a single parent company.

Background and acquisition

The Austin fab was originally built in 1984 for Motorola, later becoming part of Freescale Semiconductor. Infineon Technologies acquired Cypress Semiconductor (which had acquired Freescale's operations) in April 2020 for $9.4 billion. SkyWater's acquisition was announced February 26, 2025 and completed June 30, 2025.

Financing for the acquisition included a $350 million five year senior secured revolving credit facility from Siena Lending Group, Great Rock Capital, Benefit Street Partners, and Ares Credit Group. Prior to the sale, Infineon invested $83 million in Fab 25 factory improvements.

Facility and production

Fab 25 operates on 200mm (8 inch) wafers, producing chips on nodes from 130nm to 65nm. Annual capacity is approximately 400,000 wafer starts, yielding up to 1 billion semiconductor chips per year. Target markets: automotive, industrial, and communications applications. Nearly 1,000 manufacturing jobs transferred from Infineon to SkyWater.

SkyWater operates the fab as a pure play foundry, meaning it manufactures chips for external customers rather than for its own product lines. This is the same model as TSMC and GlobalFoundries. Infineon entered a long term supply agreement to maintain manufacturing continuity, providing SkyWater with a built in anchor customer.

Infineon continuing presence

Infineon has committed to maintaining a long term presence in Austin for R&D and sales operations. The long term supply agreement ensures that Infineon products continue to be manufactured at Fab 25. This provides production volume stability during SkyWater's transition and gives vendors confidence in sustained demand.

Leadership

Thomas Sonderman serves as SkyWater Technology CEO. No Austin specific plant manager has been publicly named for post acquisition operations. This is an important detail for vendors: the operational leadership structure at Fab 25 is still being established under new ownership.

Pure play foundry model and vendor implications

Under Infineon, the Austin fab served a single parent company's product requirements. Under SkyWater, the fab must attract and serve multiple external customers. This changes the vendor dynamic in several ways:

• Broader product mix. Multiple customers means a wider range of process recipes, which increases the variety of consumable chemicals, gases, and materials required.
• Customer driven qualification. Different foundry customers may have different vendor requirements, creating more entry points for suppliers.
• Volume sensitivity. A pure play foundry's utilization depends on customer orders. Vendors offering competitive pricing and flexible supply terms have an advantage.
• Defense and trusted foundry. SkyWater holds Trusted Foundry status, meaning it can manufacture chips for U.S. defense and intelligence applications. Vendors serving Fab 25 may need to meet additional security and compliance requirements for defense related production runs.

Vendor categories

As a 200mm mature node facility, Fab 25's consumable and service requirements include:

• Ultrapure water. Standard 200mm UPW requirements for wafer processing.
• Specialty gases. Process gases for 130nm through 65nm nodes.
• Photolithography chemicals. Photoresists and developers for mature node optical lithography (no EUV).
• CMP slurries. Standard formulations for 200mm wafer planarization.
• Vacuum and abatement. Maintenance and replacement for existing 200mm tooling.
• Wastewater treatment. Fab effluent management, an area where Valicor (Austin coverage) and IDE Technologies are active.

Relationship to other Texas fabs

Fab 25 operates in the same Austin semiconductor corridor as Samsung Austin (300mm, 65nm to 14nm), NXP Austin (200mm automotive MCUs), and Tesla Terafab (early stage). The nearby Samsung Taylor fab (2nm GAA) is 30 miles northeast. For vendors building a Texas semiconductor customer base, the concentration of five fab operators in the Austin corridor creates an efficient territory for sales coverage.

Timing window

SkyWater completed the Fab 25 acquisition less than a year ago. The transition from a captive fab (Infineon) to a pure play foundry is ongoing. New customer acquisition is actively expanding the product mix. Operational leadership at the Austin site is being established. This is a transition window where new vendors have a realistic shot at displacing incumbents or qualifying for new production lines that did not exist under Infineon's ownership.

Whether SkyWater has applied for CHIPS Act funding for Fab 25 could not be confirmed from public sources. The CHIPS Act overview covers the current Texas funding landscape.

ExecGraph maps decision chains at Texas chip fab operators including SkyWater Fab 25. Book a 1 hour walkthrough.

Frequently asked questions

What happened to Infineon's Austin fab?

SkyWater Technology acquired Infineon's Austin fab (Fab 25) for $73 million at close plus approximately $20 million for working capital. The deal completed June 30, 2025. Nearly 1,000 manufacturing jobs transferred to SkyWater. Infineon entered a long term supply agreement and committed to maintaining an Austin R&D and sales presence.

What does SkyWater Fab 25 produce?

Fab 25 is a 200mm wafer fab producing chips on nodes from 130nm to 65nm. Annual capacity is approximately 400,000 wafer starts, yielding up to 1 billion chips per year for automotive, industrial, and communications applications. SkyWater operates it as a pure play foundry.

Does SkyWater have Trusted Foundry status?

Yes. SkyWater Technology holds Trusted Foundry status, enabling production of chips for U.S. defense and intelligence applications. Vendors may need to meet additional security and compliance requirements for defense related production runs.

Who leads SkyWater Technology?

Thomas Sonderman serves as SkyWater Technology CEO. No Austin specific plant manager has been publicly named for post acquisition operations at Fab 25.