IBM and GlobalFoundries have settled a dispute over breaches of contracts and theft of secrets and will cooperate

GlobalFoundries and IBM announced they had reached an agreement to resolve their mutual lawsuits. GlobalFoundries was accused of violating its contract with IBM, and the computer technology giant, in turn, was suspected of misusing the chipmaker’s trade secrets.

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In a joint statement, the companies noted that the terms of the agreement are confidential and that it will allow them to “explore new opportunities for cooperation,” Reuters reports.

Recall that the conflict began after GlobalFoundries, a multinational company engaged in contract manufacturing of chips, acquired IBM semiconductor factories in 2015. However, in 2021, IBM filed a lawsuit in New York state court (USA), accusing GlobalFoundries of violating a contract worth $1.5 billion, which included the production of high-performance chips for IBM.

In turn, GlobalFoundries filed a lawsuit against IBM in US federal court in 2023, alleging that the company illegally used its trade secrets in collaboration with Intel and the Japanese consortium Rapidus. According to GlobalFoundries, IBM transferred confidential information about chip manufacturing technologies to these companies. At that time, an Intel representative refused to comment on the agreement reached, and Rapidus representatives did not respond to journalists’ requests.