French defence group Thales, French connector and component maker Radiall, and Taiwan-based Foxconn have initiated preliminary discussions to consider the establishment of a semiconductor production facility in France.

The proposed project aims to develop an industrial capacity in the field of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test.

This collaboration aims to develop a facility with an annual production capacity of more than 100 million system in package (SIP) units by 2031.

The project is expected to attract additional European industrial partners to support an investment exceeding €250m ($272m).

According to Foxconn, the proposed facility would utilise fan-out wafer level packaging technology.

The facility is expected to address the European aerospace, automotive, space telecoms and defense advanced packaging markets, while bringing together other European industrial investors.

In a press statement, Foxconn said: “With this development, Foxconn deepens its industrial expertise and global footprint, strengthening the resilience of the supply chain and making key investments in new businesses.”

Details on potential locations within France or a timeline for final investment decisions were not disclosed by the companies.

Recently, Nvidia and Foxconn Hon Hai Technology Group expanded partnership with plans to build an AI factory in Taiwan.

For this initiative, the two companies are working with the Taiwanese government, and aim to provide the latest NVIDIA Blackwell infrastructure to a wide array of users including researchers, startups, and various industries.