Foxconn and Thales eye semiconductor, satellite projects in france
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn and French defence and aerospace group Thales have entered a strategic partnership aimed at advancing semiconductor and space manufacturing in Europe.
The announcement was made during the annual "Choose France" investment summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
The first of two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) outlines Foxconn’s plan to collaborate with Thales and French connector and component maker Radiall on a proposed outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility. The project could attract over EUR 250 million in investment and would support Europe’s aerospace, automotive, space telecommunications, and defence sectors, according to a press release.
The OSAT project would use fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) — a technology not yet established at scale in France. Foxconn described the initiative as a means to "strengthen the resilience of the supply chain" while expanding its industrial and geographic footprint.
The second MOU concerns the production of satellite constellations. Foxconn will work with Thales Alenia Space — a joint venture between Thales and Italy’s Leonardo — which aims to explore the development of high-quality, series satellite production for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) telecommunications constellations. The goal is to combine Foxconn’s experience in large-scale manufacturing with Thales Alenia Space’s satellite engineering capabilities.
Foxconn entered the space sector in 2023 with the launch of a CubeSat proof-of-concept, part of its broader expansion into next-generation communications technologies beyond 5G.