UK’s Octric Semiconductor to get £200 million boost
Octric Semiconductors Ltd. (Durham, England), a wafer fab bought by the UK government in 2024, is set to receive £200 million (about US$250 million) in investment, according to a Telegraph report.
The money has been pledged as part of a 10-year Ministry of Defence spending initiative for the compound semiconductor factory, which the UK government bought in 2024.
UK government buys Durham fab in shock move
The funding of £200 million includes £20 million spent to acquire the plant, the report said adding that the UK government is open to sharing ownership with other investors. The compound semiconductor manufacturing capacity is said to be strategic for UK defense requirements.
The company said that it has plans to expand with additional manufacturing process platforms and products and is looking for engineers with experience in compound semiconductors such as GaAs, GaN and InP. “We now have a bright new path ahead of us as a result of the ongoing significant investment,” the company said on a Linkedin posting. Octric describes itself as the foundry for the next generation of semiconductors.
The announcement follows one of a similar scale by Vishay Intertechnology in Newport, Wales and comes as the UK rushes to try and preserve and foster chipmaking ability in the UK.
The 310,000 square feet plant, located in Aycliffe Business Park, was acquired by II‑VI (now Coherent) in 2017 but came to be at risk in a global review by the company in 2024. The UK government stepped in and bought it for a price that was reported to be about £27 million.
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