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Mexico is pursuing a larger role in the semiconductor supply chain, but its announced program is a staged bid—not evidence that a new chip factory is already operating. The federal Kutsari initiative starts with public chip-design capacity, while the government has said it would later choose a model for fabrication and aims to build out more of the chain over time.
Can Mexico manufacture chips?
Potentially, but “making chips” covers different activities. A country can design chips or assemble and test them without operating a wafer-fabrication plant, or fab. Mexico’s February 2025 announcement described three stages: design; fabrication; and testing, encapsulation and assembly. The government’s announcement set goals for expanding those capabilities, but the available sources do not establish that the proposed new factory began operating.
| Value-chain stage | What happens | Mexico’s announced position |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Engineers develop a chip’s architecture and layout before it is manufactured. | Kutsari was announced as a public design-center initiative, drawing on higher-education institutions. |
| Fabrication | A wafer fab makes chips on semiconductor wafers using specialized processes and equipment. | The government said it would define a suitable public, private or mixed model; a potential factory was described as a proposal, not a verified operating facility. |
| Assembly, testing and packaging | Individual chips are separated, packaged and tested for use in products. | The industry-led 2024–2030 Master Plan includes goals to attract more of these operations and related inputs. |
The distinction matters because a stronger design or packaging sector would expand Mexico’s semiconductor role, but would not by itself mean the country has a leading-edge wafer fab. The February 2025 presidential press-conference transcript quoted an estimate of approximately USD 700 billion in global semiconductor sales in 2024 and attributed 58% of value to design, 36% to fabrication and 6% to assembly, testing and packaging. Those figures are the transcript’s attributed estimates, not a measure of Mexico’s current share. Presidency of Mexico, February 6, 2025
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →What is Mexico’s Kutsari semiconductor project?
Kutsari is the federal government’s announced public effort to develop domestic semiconductor design capability. The February 2025 announcement projected initial design centers in Puebla, Jalisco and Sonora, with work intended to serve sectors including automotive, appliances and medical devices. It also described accelerated training for chip designers and participation by public higher-education and research institutions, including INAOE, Cinvestav, UNAM and IPN. These were announced plans and intended locations, not confirmation that all centers were already operating. Presidency of Mexico, Kutsari announcement, February 6, 2025
The government’s stated sequence put design first. The announcement targeted consolidation of the design center in 2027, after which a fabrication approach would be pursued. That order could let Mexico build expertise and develop designs before committing to a capital-intensive manufacturing model.
Is Mexico building a chip fab?
The February 2025 announcement did not amount to confirmation of a fab under construction or in production. It said Mexico would define an appropriate fabrication model—public, private or mixed—toward mid-2026. It also referred to a private-sector factory proposal that could begin operating in 2026 and be consolidated by 2029. The proposal and timetable should not be read as proof that operations began: the available sources do not verify that milestone.
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The same announcement set out longer-range targets: design capacity consolidated in 2027, a possible factory consolidated in 2029, and all three value-chain stages by 2030. These are government targets, not independently verified completions. Presidency of Mexico, February 6, 2025
What does the 2024–2030 semiconductor Master Plan add?
The industry-led Master Plan, developed through a CANIETI-convened collaboration process, is broader than the question of whether Mexico builds a fab. The OECD’s 2026 review summarizes its targets as:
- Doubling semiconductor exports and employment.
- Doubling and diversifying chip-design activity.
- Relocating more than USD 10 billion in assembly, testing and packaging operations to Mexico during the plan period.
- Bringing related back-end inputs to Mexico and doubling local sourcing.
- Starting domestic supply of raw materials to support regional resilience.
The more-than-USD 10 billion figure is a Master Plan relocation target as summarized by the OECD, not a confirmed investment total. In a May 14, 2025 progress meeting, Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy reported that 16 of the plan’s 30 targets had been met. That is a dated progress count, not a current tally or proof that the remaining goals were completed. Secretariat of Economy, May 14, 2025; OECD, 2026
What would it take for Mexico to join the supply chain?
A design center or a factory announcement is only one piece of the challenge. In its 2026 review, the OECD described Mexico’s semiconductor-policy landscape as fragmented and said the country did not then have a unified, measurable national strategy. It recommended a dedicated federal strategy with clear milestones and broader stakeholder coordination.
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The OECD also identified practical conditions that shape whether plans can become sustained industrial capacity:
- Skilled workers: designers, process engineers, technicians and other specialists need training pathways connected to employers.
- Research and innovation: university and public research expertise must connect to commercial design and production needs.
- Reliable infrastructure: semiconductor operations depend on suitable sites and dependable water, energy and transport infrastructure.
- Coordination and execution: public agencies need to align investment processes, regional planning and infrastructure decisions.
- Global value-chain links: firms need access to customers, suppliers, technology and the specialized inputs required to compete.
The OECD’s review also describes a June 2024 federal collaboration agreement involving nine secretariats and agencies. The agreement addressed coordination, regional suitability, water, energy, infrastructure and investment processes. That coordination effort is relevant groundwork, but it is distinct from proof that a specific fab has financing, construction underway or commercial output. OECD, 2026
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How does Plan México fit in?
Semiconductors sit within Mexico’s wider policy goals around nearshoring, domestic content, import substitution and higher-value local supply chains. Plan México provides that policy context; it is not evidence of a particular chip-fab investment. Separately, a 2026 federal investment-authorization decree names semiconductor and microelectronics design and manufacturing as strategic sectors. That designation establishes priority and a facilitation framework, but does not itself identify a semiconductor award, financing commitment or operating factory. Mexico Secretariat of Economy, Plan México; Federal investment authorization decree, 2026
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