ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Production has started at a $4.6 billion state-of-the-art computer chip plant in upstate New York built to compete in the constantly evolving semiconductor market and to stimulate the region's economy.

GlobalFoundries Inc. and IBM announced a deal Monday to manufacture chips at the new GlobalFoundries plant, which is still being built about 20 miles north of Albany in Malta. Initial production of the 32-nanometer chips for IBM began at the site this year and will ramp up to full production in the second half of 2012.

Ground was broken on the massive facility in 2009 after New York state committed $1.2 billion in aid.

GlobalFoundries was spun off from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and Malta's "Fab 8" was built to keep up with Intel Corp., the world's dominant microprocessor company.