Skorpios picks new location for semiconductor manufacturing as it leaves Austin
Skorpios Technologies Inc. is moving its Austin semiconductor manufacturing operations to Southern California. It’s the culmination of a search kicked off after the company did not have its lease renewed at 2706 Montopolis Dr., leading Skorpios to cut up to 60 positions by the end of May. The owner of the South Austin site, the University of Texas at Austin, told Austin Business Journal it did not extend the lease because it intends to use the facility for research purposes. A spokesperson said UT was “exploring multiple options for our long-term research mission, which is driven by the reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing and federal research initiatives.” Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Skorpios recently revealed to ABJ its next steps. The company produces the hardware used in high-speed video, data and voice communications technology. The company said it will occupy a 450,000-square-foot facility in Southern California, more than twice the size of its Austin facility, where it will be able to support customer demand for its Tru-SiPh heterogeneous photonic integrated circuits. Semiconductor manufacturer Skorpios said it is moving a handful of employees from Austin to Southern California, and others will work remotely from Texas. Karyl Fowler Texas has developed a reputation for luring businesses from California — including, in 2021, Tesla’s headquarters — so it’s worth noting when the inverse occurs. Lisa Albrecht , Skorpios vice president of operations, declined to disclose the exact location of the California facility as the deal is still being finalized. Skorpios is expected to close on the deal by the end of March, Albrecht said. Between five and 10 employees from the Austin site will relocate to continue their work at the new facility, and others will continue their work remotely from Austin. The operation’s staff of 100 is anticipated to double in size in the coming years at the new site, Albrecht said. The company will start manufacturing operations at the California location by April 30 after phasing out production at the Austin facility. “Skorpios’ fab is a leader in many of the key technologies such as heterogeneous integration and 3D packaging that will be important in the next generation of semiconductor technologies,” stated Stephen Krasulick , CEO and co-founder of Skorpios. “These capabilities are key aspects of our Tru-SiPh technology platform. We look forward to continuing to expand our silicon photonics capacity in the new, larger facility in Southern California.” Skorpios shared that the new site will benefit from a skilled manufacturing workforce cultivated by the prior owners, as well as proximity to potential employees in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. Before Skorpios inherited the South Austin lease through its 2017 purchase of Novati Technologies, the site was home to Sematech, a semiconductor research consortium that left Austin for upstate New York in 2010. Sematech is a nonprofit consortium — it was founded in the 1980s as a partnership between the United States government and 14 U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturers to incite domestic growth of the industry, although it has since evolved to have a wider, international focus. Manufacturing Firms Ranked by Austin: Total campus s.f. Rank Company name (Prior rank) Austin: Total campus s.f. 1 Tesla Inc. 4.00 million 2 NXP Semiconductors 2.68 million 3 Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC 2.45 million View This List
