As Toshiba looks to sell off its semiconductor business, Apple and Amazon will reportedly join Foxconn's bid to buy the chip unit, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou told Nikkei business daily, according to a Reuters report.

Gou said in an interview that both Apple and Amazon are planning to ‘chipin funds’. However, it is not yet clear whether both the technology giants will directly invest in the semiconductor unit or they will help Foxconn with financing for the deal.

Japanese unit Sharp Corp also has partnered with Taiwan-based Foxconn, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry for this bid.

Toshiba has valued the unit at around $18 billion.

"Foxconn can confirm that we have submitted a bid for Toshiba's chip business with a number of strategic partners," the Taiwanese firm said in a statement to Reuters. The company added that it would discuss details ‘at the appropriate time’.

Owing to a huge hole in its finances, Toshiba has put up its memory chip unit up for sale. According to BBC, the Japanese firm needs to raise funds after its US nuclear unit, Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

The world’s second largest chip maker warned that its net loss for 2016 could exceed nine billion dollars, making it one of the biggest losses in the corporate history of Japan.

Toshiba is now depending on the sale of the unit to be able to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at the US nuclear unit Westinghouse.

But the Japanese government has said that it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of the key chip technology out of the country. And due to its deep ties with China, Foxconn – a major supplier to Apple -- it is not being seen as a frontrunner for the unit.

Image: Raimond Spekking