Samsung is about to finalize the construction plan for a new chip plant in the United States

Samsung has previously announced that it will invest approximately $17 billion in the United States to build a new chip plant. The project will create 1,800 jobs. As Samsung itself has a wafer fab in Austin, Texas, which has been produced on a 14nm process and has been operating for many years, it is generally believed that it will still choose this area to facilitate resource integration.

According to Reuters, Samsung is still choosing an ideal location for its fab in Texas and is close to making a final decision. Due to the need for sufficient and stable electricity and water supply, the suburbs of Austin are still the most likely places. It is understood that Samsung also plans to build a $10 billion facility in Texas to develop next-generation 3nm processes for customers.

Samsung plans to start construction at the end of this year or early next year and start operations before the end of 2024. It will use EUV lithography equipment and adopt a 5nm process node to further meet the needs of customers in the United States. Samsung currently lags behind rival TSMC in wafer manufacturing technology and capacity, so it has to increase investment to catch up with TSMC’s R&D pace in 2nm and 3nm processes, as well as the scale of production capacity.

In addition to Samsung’s intends to expand the production capacity of its wafer fabs in the United States, it is now also planning to invest heavily in South Korea. Samsung initially announced that it would invest 133 trillion won (approximately $117 billion) in the expansion of its fab, including the construction of a new fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. With the changes in the situation and the support and promotion of the Korean government, Samsung stated that its total investment will increase from $117 billion to $151.5 billion by 2030.