Sony Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are discussing a roughly 1 trillion yen (US$6.4 billion) joint factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, to make next-generation image sensors for robots and cars from 2029, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Sony’s chip unit, would control the venture while remaining a minority investor in TSMC’s existing Kumamoto operation.

That site is due to add a second fab by the end of 2027 and then have capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers a month across multiple process nodes.

The project may expand if it secures government backing.

Japan has already pledged up to 476 billion yen (US$3.01 billion) for the first Kumamoto plant and an additional 732 billion yen (US$4.63 billion) for a second fab, taking total support for TSMC’s Japan projects to more than 1 trillion yen (US$6.32 billion).

The project would deepen Sony’s push into automotive and robotics image sensors.

Sony said it entered automotive sensors around 2012 and still lags behind in that segment, even though it leads the overall image sensor market.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg