Massive expansion
The new investment plans include the creation of a new chip manufacturing facility, a packaging hub, and a research and development space. It will all be located near the city of Taylor, Texas, where Samsung's existing semiconductor facility is located. The current manufacturing hub is not yet operational but will begin producing "crucial logic chips" later this year. For those who are geographically challenged, Taylor is about a 40-minute drive from Austin.
Biden administration's support
If these plans are realized, it will be a significant success for President Biden's administration. One of the main goals of the CHIPS Act is to attract global chip manufacturers to build facilities on US soil. To that end, the federal government plans to award Samsung more than $6 billion as an additional incentive to continue operations on American soil.
The CHIPS Act has enabled the federal government to award funding and offer loans to many tech companies to encourage domestic spending. In February, the multinational semiconductor company GlobalFoundries received a grant of $1.5 billion to help cover the costs of a significant expansion in the US, in addition to a $1.6 billion loan. It plans to build a new facility in Malta, New York, which will handle chip manufacturing for the automotive, aerospace, defense, and AI sectors.
Recently, Intel received the largest CHIPS grant to date, snagging up to $8.5 billion to continue various US-based operations. The current plan is for Intel to use that money to build facilities that produce cutting-edge semiconductor chips intended for AI and other advanced applications. The company is building two new fabrication facilities in Arizona and two in Ohio. Additionally, it plans to modernize two existing fabs in New Mexico and expand one location in Oregon. In total, Intel intends to invest $100 billion in US-based chip manufacturing. The various projects are expected to create 20,000 construction jobs and 10,000 manufacturing jobs.
The Biden administration signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in 2022 to support domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing and to reduce America's dependence on Chinese suppliers. It sets aside $52 billion in tax credits and funding for firms to expand stateside production.
