Detroit’s two biggest auto makers— Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. —are looking to get into the semiconductor business, after a year of computer-chip shortages that snarled their global factory output.

Ford on Thursday morning said it had entered into a strategic agreement with U.S.-based chip maker GlobalFoundries Inc. to develop chips, a pact that could eventually lead to joint production in the U.S. The two companies didn’t disclose terms or say how much they might invest in future production capacity.