The secretive Zelenograd-based chipmaker NM-Tech is preparing to establish its own microchip packaging operation, further strengthening Russia’s domestic manufacturing infrastructure. As Russia aims to reduce dependence on foreign microelectronics, the project could enhance the company’s control over semiconductor production.
NM-Tech is reportedly preparing to organize chip assembly and packaging at its facilities in Zelenograd, Moscow’s traditional microelectronics hub, according to Russian media. According to reports, two senior executives from Russian semiconductor companies confirmed the plans. Additionally, a recruitment notice published in July 2026 serves as further evidence that the project is currently underway.
NM-Tech Builds a Chip Packaging Capability
The organization has been actively seeking a lead process engineer who specializes in semiconductor packaging. The role entails the technological preparation for assembly and packaging, wafer thinning and cutting, the production of prototype boards, and reliability screening.
The specialist is also expected to operate equipment used for die attachment, microwelding, and package sealing. The vacancy was announced on July 20, 2026, with Zelenograd appearing as the workplace and NM-Tech as the employer.
Packaging is one of the final phases of semiconductor manufacturing. Before individual dies can be installed on electronic boards, they must be separated, electrically connected, and placed in protective packaging after circuits are fabricated on a silicon wafer.
Packaging is a strategically significant component of the semiconductor supply chain, although it is less frequently discussed than advanced lithography. In the absence of adequate domestic assembly, packaging, and testing capabilities, semiconductor dies that are locally fabricated may still require external suppliers before they can be used as commercial components.
Flip-Chip and BGA Technologies Under Consideration
According to industry sources, NM-Tech has the potential to implement a variety of packaging methods, such as conventional wire bonding, flip-chip, and BGA. Plastic packaging is anticipated to be the primary focus of initial production.
The semiconductor die is directly affixed to a substrate using electrical bumps in flip-chip technology, as opposed to conventional connecting wires. BGA, or ball grid array, packages use an array of solder connections beneath the package, which enables a significantly greater number of electrical connections than many conventional package designs.
NM-Tech appears to be primarily interested in establishing the capability for its own semiconductor production, rather than immediately becoming a large contract packaging supplier.
The organization has disclosed few details. NM-Tech informed CNews that its commercial parameters and agreements with external counterparties are safeguarded by confidentiality agreements. Additionally, the company is exploring various options. It declined to disclose the specific processors that would be packaged or to provide comprehensive technological specifications.
A Company That Rarely Talks About Its Projects
NM-Tech has emerged as one of the most obscure entities in the semiconductor industry of Russia. It has been reported by industry sources that the company has significantly reduced the amount of information it discloses regarding its projects since 2022.
Nevertheless, NM-Tech is identified as a Russian full-cycle semiconductor manufacturer that uses 200-mm silicon wafers. Process design kits for 250 nm and 130 nm production are presently being advertised by the company, and a 90 nm PDK is still in the process of being developed. It also includes contract manufacturing, functional testing, intellectual property development, and research activities in its capabilities.
The company’s objectives are significantly more ambitious than these mature semiconductor nodes.
NM-Tech is affiliated with the significant FAB-300 project in Zelenograd, which is designed to establish a manufacturing capability for chips that use technology as small as 28 nm. The initiative is a component of Russia’s overarching strategy to reestablish domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
Nevertheless, construction experienced setbacks. In March 2025, NM-Tech issued two tenders for laboratory testing associated with the construction of FAB-300, which were subsequently canceled. The anticipated contracts were estimated to be worth approximately 19.4 million rubles.
More Than 100 Billion Rubles Invested
The development program of NM-Tech is of considerable scope. CNews reported in 2025 that the enterprise had invested approximately 118 billion rubles in borrowed funds, which included efforts to establish 130 nm, 180 nm, and 250 nm manufacturing processes.
State support has been a major component of financing. In 2023, Russian government agency VEB.RF established a non-revolving credit account for NM-Tech with a maximum limit of 116.4 billion rubles. The financing was allocated for the purchase of technological equipment, commissioning, intellectual property, and other expenses related to the beginning of semiconductor production. According to reports, the repayment deadline is set for the end of 2027.
NM-Tech pledged scores of semiconductor manufacturing systems and other equipment to VEB.RF as collateral in January 2026. According to reports, an ASML lithography system was reportedly included in early collateral arrangements.
These investments indicate that the packaging project is not a standalone initiative, but rather a component of a more comprehensive endeavor to create a more vertically integrated semiconductor operation.
NM-Tech Is Already Working With Mikron
In 2025, Russian semiconductor manufacturer Mikron expanded 180 nm production by using NM-Tech facilities, which served as an additional indicator of the company’s expanding role.
In response to robust demand and capacity constraints at its own production facilities, Mikron purportedly sought assistance from its neighbor in Zelenograd. The first dies were produced at NM-Tech’s facility after the test procedures were completed. Although NM-Tech has some of the latest machinery, industry experts have observed that the two companies operate similar types of semiconductor equipment.
The collaboration demonstrates how NM-Tech has the potential to serve as a major source of additional manufacturing capacity for the Russian semiconductor ecosystem, even prior to the FAB-300 project’s anticipated scaling.
Russia Already Has Several Packaging Facilities
NM-Tech will not enter an empty market. Mikron, NIIME/NIIT-related enterprises, Milandr, GS Group, the Soyuz Design Center, Kremniy El, and the Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center are among the companies and institutions in Russia that have already implemented semiconductor packaging operations.
For instance, in Zelenograd, ZNTC has enhanced its own packaging infrastructure. The clean-room area for these operations has been expanded to approximately 1,350 square meters, and it is equipped with over 160 pieces of equipment. The facility has dealt with chips that are associated with companies such as Angstrem, MCST, NM-Tech, and Milandr.
Scale is the issue. According to Russian industry sources, numerous domestic packaging facilities operate with relatively low production volumes. This complicates the process of matching the economics of large Chinese semiconductor packaging facilities.
CNews cited an industry executive who contended that Russia could have achieved superior economics by consolidating state investment into a small number of independent, high-volume packaging factories, rather than establishing a multitude of smaller facilities.
Another Step Toward a Domestic Semiconductor Chain
NM-Tech’s packaging initiative nevertheless fills an important technological gap. Russia’s semiconductor strategy is increasingly centered on the development of chips domestically, as well as the establishment of a significant portion of the manufacturing chain within the country.
Wafer fabrication alone does not create a finished semiconductor industry. Design tools, lithography, materials, wafer processing, packaging, testing, and electronics assembly are all interconnected components of the ecosystem.
NM-Tech could potentially reduce logistical dependence and reduce the path between fabricated silicon and finished electronic components by bringing packaging closer to its wafer-production operations. The new packaging line has the potential to transform the relatively publicity-shy company into one of the more consequential players in Russia’s endeavor to reconstruct a vertically integrated semiconductor industry, in conjunction with its mature-node production, cooperation with Mikron, and the long-term FAB-300 project.