Two-track operation with the existing Austin plant
The largest single overseas investment of '17 billion USD’
Construction will start next year and mass production will begin in 2024.
Samsung Electronics has practically confirmed their new semiconductor plant in the United States in Taylor City, Texas. Samsung's U.S. foundry (semiconductor consignment production) production line is expected to operate two-track with the existing Austin, Texas plant and the new Taylor plant. The Wall Street Journal reported on the 22nd that Gregory Abbott, the Texas governor, would make an official announcement regarding the selection of a new factory site for Samsung Electronics' US foundry at around 5 pm on the 23rd (local time) (8 am Korean time). The investment is worth around $170 USD (about 20 trillion KRW), the largest ever among Samsung Electronics' single overseas investments. Construction is expected to begin next year and mass production is expected in 2024.
The city of Taylor, where Samsung Electronics' new foundry plant will be built, is about 40 kilometers from the Austin plant. The site of the new plant, including roads, is about 4.85 million square meters, and it is known that it is about four times larger than the existing Austin plant. The City of Taylor recently voted for a 292 million USD (340 billion KRW) tax incentive and put a lot of effort into attracting the second foundry plant.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jae-yong Lee, who was on a business trip to the U.S., was reported to have met with a high-ranking White House official and a key member of the U.S. Congress on the 18th and 19th, and directly delivered his opinion on the investment in the second semiconductor plant.
Foundry competition with TSMC is expected to intensify with Samsung Electronics' confirmation of investment in the U.S. TSMC is also building a new foundry plant in Arizona, U.S. by investing 12 billion USD (14 trillion KRW).
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics' foundry market share was 14% in the second quarter of last year, but it was far behind TSMC (58%). Competition is expected to intensify, with both companies aiming to complete a new plant in the U.S. in 2024.
A Samsung Electronics official said, "The final decision has not been made yet" regarding the construction of the new plant in the U.S.
Prior to this, Vice Chairman Lee visited DS Americas (DSA) and Samsung Research America (SRA), which are semiconductor and set research institutes located in Silicon Valley, California, on the 21st and 22nd. It was known that he wants to check and encourage researchers for future core technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 6G. After that, he met with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and planed and discussed to collaborate in the next-generation information and communication technology (ICT) and software (SW) innovation fields such as system semiconductors, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), autonomous driving, and platform revolution.
By Staff Reporters Ji-woong Kim (jw0316@etnews.com), Bong-kyun Ham (hbkone@etnews.com)