German Bosch Acquires US Semiconductor Company TSI

Investment in Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Manufacturing

German Bosch, the world's largest automotive parts supplier, announced on the 26th (local time) that it will acquire the U.S. semiconductor company TSI Semiconductor.

Bosch will invest 1.4 billion euros (approximately 2.1 trillion KRW) to pay the acquisition price for TSI and will invest in silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturing in the future. The acquisition is expected to be completed within the year after obtaining approval from competition authorities.

Bosch plans to convert the TSI factory and focus on silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturing starting in 2026. It already owns semiconductor factories in Dresden and Reutlingen, Germany, and is expanding the net area of the Reutlingen factory, which manufactures silicon carbide semiconductors.

The importance of silicon carbide semiconductors in the automotive industry is increasing. These semiconductors minimize energy loss during charging and extend the driving range of electric vehicles by 6-10% compared to silicon semiconductors. Bosch estimates that the silicon carbide semiconductor market is growing at an annual rate of 30%.

Accordingly, Bosch announced last year that it plans to invest 3 billion euros (approximately 4.435 trillion KRW) in semiconductor business within Europe by 2026.

German semiconductor company Infineon is also building a silicon carbide semiconductor factory in Malaysia with an investment of 2 billion euros (approximately 3 trillion KRW). ZF, together with the U.S. semiconductor company Wolfspeed, plans to build a semiconductor factory worth 3 billion euros (approximately 4.435 trillion KRW) in Saarland and start manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductors.

Bosch stated, "The total investment scale could increase further depending on subsidies under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act (CSA) and support from the state of California."