Samsung is thinking of building a chipmaking plant in the US, in a bid to win more US clients and help it catch up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which late last year approved plans to expand operations in the US, with an investment of USD 3.5 billion for a wholly-owned subsidiary in Arizona. Samsung is in discussions to set up its chip making plant in Texas, with an investment of at least USD 10 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The facility would make chips in the future of 3 nm. Plans are still preliminary and subject to change but the company hopes to start construction this year, install major equipment from 2022, and then begin operations from 2023. Sources said the manufacturing facility would use extreme ultraviolet lithography, a first for the US, and a standard for next-generation silicon. Asked directly about its plans for a US facility, Samsung said in an email that no decision had yet been made.
Samsung is looking to take advantage of a cooling in trade relations between the US and China. The hope is that such production bases in the US will boost local businesses and support US industry and chip design. Intel depends on TSMC and Samsung for at least some of its chipmaking. The company has reportedly hired people to lobby on behalf of the deal and is ready to go ahead with the new Biden administration in place. Tax benefits and subsidies will ease Samsung’s financial burden, but the company may go ahead even without major incentives, one of the people said.
