Chips Made in Mexico: The Beginning of Technological Sovereignty

In a scenario marked by health crises, geopolitical tensions, and logistical disruptions, technological dependence has ceased to be an industrial issue and has become a matter of sovereignty. The semiconductor or chip industry is the least visible but most strategic backbone of the global economy. Mexico consumes them massively but does not manufacture any.

The demand for chips is growing every day, as each technological product requires more semiconductors and a greater variety of them, since they are found in cars, medical equipment, household appliances, telecommunications, and the security systems we use every day.

As a result, there is constant pressure on the chip supply chain, which, as became clear after the pandemic, is fragile and concentrated in very few countries where few companies control the key links in the process.

Today, chip manufacturing (foundries) takes place mainly in Asia, which means that a geopolitical conflict, a pandemic, an earthquake, a drought, or trade sanctions can affect industries around the world, as happened between 2020 and 2022, causing shortages and volatile prices.

In this context, QSM Semiconductors is focusing its efforts on ensuring that Mexico has a legacy node chip manufacturing plant, thereby reducing its external dependence in critical sectors (automotive, medical, security), gaining the ability to respond to global crises, retaining value, talent, and knowledge, and diversifying the supply chain.

In 2022, Mexico imported around US$36 billion in semiconductors, with annual growth of close to 10%. Therefore, the installation of this plant in the municipality of El Marques, Queretaro, marks the beginning of something bigger than a 6,000-square-meter industrial warehouse: it is the first link in a chip production chain in Mexico.

Having a chip manufacturing plant in Mexico puts the country in a strategic position in the global market and shows that there is indeed national capacity to develop and manufacture advanced technology.

This is not a maquila plant. It is a plant that will allow us to see the entire semiconductor value chain, from design and chip manufacturing to packaging and sale. The component and value remain in Mexico. That translates into specialized jobs, knowledge, and a real basis for talking about technological sovereignty.

Ninety percent of production will be destined for the domestic market, as it is a Mexican plant for the Mexican industry. And this is not just a pipe dream: 40% of capacity is already committed to domestic customers, while 15% will be destined for export.

Legacy Node Chips

The QSM Semiconductors plant will manufacture 450-nanometer legacy node chips, also known as mature, stable, and reliable chips, which are indispensable for critical sectors, such as automotive, medical, appliances, security, and telecommunications.

In fact, much of the global semiconductor shortage in recent years has not occurred in the most advanced nodes, but precisely in legacy nodes, hybrid and electric cars, medical equipment, and industrial systems that depend on these chips.

Manufacturing them in Mexico not only makes economic sense: it is a strategic decision aligned with the country's industrial structure. This plant is not intended to be an isolated case. The vision is to trigger a network of plants, gradually evolve into technological hubs, increase production capacities, and build a national semiconductor ecosystem.

We will seek to install two more plants by 2035, in different regions of the country, as the market demands. To achieve this, the sum of many actors is needed: the federal government, academia, industry, and suppliers of energy, water, materials, gases, and silicon.

In this regard, the support of the federal government is very important for QSM Semiconductors. We recognize the support we have received from the Ministry of Economy, which a few months ago awarded us the Made in Mexico Seal, and in general, the government included the issue of semiconductors in the Mexico Plan.

Manufacturing semiconductors is not just a question of infrastructure; above all, it is a challenge in terms of talent. Today, the team is made up of 50 people, including masters in science, doctors in materials, and doctors in solid-state physics. With the plant now up and running, the goal is to double employment, all of which will be highly specialized and high value.

QSM Semiconductors has already established agreements with universities, academies, and research centers, not only to recruit but also to train and retain talent by creating conditions for knowledge to remain in Mexico, which is as important as attracting it.

Toward Technological Sovereignty

Our plant will have an ISO 5 clean room, a classification where temperature, humidity, pressure, and air purity are strictly controlled.

A single microscopic particle can ruin a chip, so access by people is limited. However, in our plant, we will install special glass that will allow the process to be observed without compromising cleanliness.

Construction of the plant is already 85% complete. It will begin operations in September with the goal of producing the first chips made in Mexico by the end of this year and entering volume production in early 2027.

In this way, Mexico enters the chip market with the advantage of having clarity about what its industry needs, understanding where its market is, and being aware that technological sovereignty is built.

By producing with quality, competitive prices, and innovation, the country will not only reduce imports but also demonstrate that it can move from words to action in one of the most complex and strategic industries of this century.

And when we talk about a Mexican semiconductor ecosystem, we will remember this moment — the opening of the first plant — as the point where it all began.