Sony Eyed $6B Investment In Japan's Smartphone Sensor Factory

  • Sony Group Corp SONY weighed an investment of 800 billion yen ($5.83 billion) to build a factory to produce smartphone image sensors in western Japan.
  • The plant would be located in Kumamoto prefecture. Sony plans to bring it online by 2025, Reuters reports.
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd TSM is also building a significant chip plant in Kumamoto. 
  • Also Read: Rapidus Eyes Big Investment To Boost Japan's Chip Trajectory, Collaborates With IBM To Commercialize 2-Nm Tech
  • Sony and auto parts maker Denso Corp DNZOF DNZOY took a minority stake in the $8.6 billion project.
  • Sony plans to source logic chips for image sensors from the TSMC plant, Nikkei Asia reports.
  • Sony carefully weighed the timing and scale of the investment in light of concerns about the outlook for the global economy.
  • Sony's existing Kumamoto facility produces sensors for various applications, including smartphones, vehicles, and industrial equipment. Apple Inc AAPL CEO Tim Cook visited the facility this week.
  • Sony is the largest supplier of CMOS image sensors for smartphone cameras and autos. Sony held a 44% share of the global market by value in 2021, versus Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF at 18%.
  • As per IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors will likely grow to $26.9 billion in 2026, up 30% year-on-year.
  • Price Action: SONY shares closed lower by 3.1% at $78.72 on Thursday.
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