Bosch Targets €5 Billion Chip Revenue With Standalone Semiconductor Division

Bosch will establish a standalone Semiconductors business sector on January 1, 2028, and targets annual semiconductor revenue of around five billion euros by 2030. The Stuttgart-based technology group announced the reorganization on November 3, 2026. The plan marks a deliberate push beyond its traditional automotive business into robotics, industrial automation and foundry services for external customers.

To date, Bosch's semiconductor activities have sat inside the Mobility Electronics business sector, managed alongside electronic control units and automotive power electronics. The reorganization consolidates chips into a separate sector. It is not a spin-off. The new unit remains organizationally part of Bosch Mobility. The stated goal is to align development and production more closely with semiconductor market requirements and to attract customers outside the core automotive business, with Bosch pointing to robotics, industrial automation and electronics for intelligent systems as growth fields.

What will the new division make?

The product portfolio spans conventional semiconductors, MEMS sensors, silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors and application-specific integrated circuits. MEMS sensors are an established Bosch strength. They measure acceleration, angular rates, pressure and other physical quantities. In robots, these sensors underpin motion detection, position determination and the monitoring of mechanical processes.

A central element of the strategy is the expansion of the foundry business. Bosch intends to open more of its existing production capacity to external partners. The target customers are chip developers that operate no fabs of their own or want to outsource specific manufacturing technologies. No specific additional capacity or binding revenue contributions from the foundry business have been announced. Bosch has also not detailed which technologies it will offer externally, or to what extent.

How does Bosch position itself against TSMC?

Unlike large contract manufacturers such as TSMC, Bosch has traditionally focused on selected technologies and applications: sensor technology, power semiconductors and specialized integrated circuits. In these fields, the smallest possible feature size is not the only decisive factor. Long-term stability, energy efficiency, reliability and the integration of specialized sensor functions matter just as much.

The industrial significance of an expanded foundry offering therefore does not lie in competing with the most advanced processor manufacturing processes. Bosch can instead apply existing expertise in markets that need specialized semiconductors for industrial and safety-critical applications.

Where does Bosch manufacture?

Bosch already operates an extensive international semiconductor network. According to the company, the group runs around 40 research, development and production sites worldwide.

• Dresden, Germany — semiconductor manufacturing and development
• Reutlingen, Germany — semiconductor and sensor production
• Roseville, USA — conversion of an existing plant for specialized SiC manufacturing
• Penang, Malaysia — semiconductor test center, with expansion planned by the middle of the next decade
• ESMC Dresden — Bosch holds a 10 percent stake in the joint venture

Bosch has invested around three billion euros in the German sites in Dresden and Reutlingen combined in recent years. The company puts the Roseville investment at around two billion US dollars.

Why silicon carbide matters

SiC plays a particular role in the plan. Compared with conventional silicon, the material suits applications involving high voltages and temperatures. In suitable circuits, SiC power semiconductors enable lower switching losses, improving the efficiency of power converters and electric drive systems. Such components are important in electric vehicles and industrial power supply systems.

The robotics market offers additional opportunity from the group's perspective. Humanoid robots, for example, must capture movements precisely, control actuators reliably and evaluate sensor data with minimal delay. These requirements differ considerably from those of conventional PC or server processors. Bosch cites analyses according to which European semiconductor demand driven by robotics and industrial automation could rise significantly by 2040. The company itself cautions that such forecasts do not guarantee sales growth, which depends on industrial investment, economic conditions and the adoption of automation solutions.

The five-billion-euro revenue target remains, for now, a corporate goal rather than a confirmed figure. The coming years will show whether the organizational restructuring converts open fab capacity into external orders and profitable growth beyond automotive.