By Yifan Wang

Foxconn Technology Group is partnering up with Taiwanese electronics maker Yageo Corp. to form a chipmaking joint venture, as the Apple supplier deepens its push into the booming semiconductor industry.

The planned joint venture, XSemi Corp., will carry out semiconductor development and sales, with a focus on chips of average selling prices lower than $2.00, the two companies said Wednesday.

The two companies have started discussions with several global semiconductor companies about potential collaboration with XSemi, they said.

The move by Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, came after a host of Taiwan chipmakers released upbeat earnings growth in the latest quarter thanks to soaring semiconductor prices. The price hike has been driven by a global chip supply shortage amid sharply higher demand from a wide range of industries, including the automotive and smartphone sectors.

"The semiconductor industry is facing the biggest upheaval in the past three decades, and the industry order will face a serious restructuring," said Foxconn Chairman Young Liu.

"Now is undoubtedly the best timing" for Foxconn to expand into the market, he said.

The world's largest iPhone assembler has been increasingly making inroads into the chipmaking industry as a strategy to drive up profitability. Last month, Foxconn said it was in discussions to acquire a chipmaking plant from Macronix International Co., a Taiwanese semiconductor company known for its memory chips.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-05-21 0545ET