Samsung Electronics increases foundry investment in US and South Korea

The chipmaker is putting more capital behind its contract manufacturing plants in Texas and Gwangju as demand for AI chips keeps climbing Samsung Electronics is putting more money into its contract chipmaking business, with fresh investment aimed at facilities in the US and South Korea. The reason is simple. Demand for chips that power artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) keeps rising, and Samsung wants enough factory capacity to meet it. Texas is the centerpiece The US side of the plan centers on a new foundry complex in Taylor, Texas. Samsung is investing $37 billion in the site. The first fab at Taylor is slated to begin operations in late 2026. It will run a 2nm manufacturing process, one of the most advanced chipmaking technologies currently in use. Fab 1 is targeting production of 20,000 wafers per month at 2nm by the second half of 2027. Samsung has also placed additional orders for 2nm equipment at Taylor Fab 1. That new gear adds capacity for approximately 6,000 wafers per month. A second fab is also on the way. Construction of Taylor Fab 2 is set to begin soon, with mass production expected by 2030. As for who will buy the output, the Taylor fab is...