Samsung Electronics Co. is floating the idea of a broad expansion of semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Texas, a possibly significant step in bolstering domestic capabilities at a time of rising concern over US vulnerabilities.
The South Korean company, the leading maker of memory chips, laid out potential plans to spend almost $200 billion on 11 plants in a series of filings in the state. Two of the units would be in Austin and nine would be in Taylor, Texas, where Samsung has already unveiled plans to spend $17 billion on an advanced facility.
The company isn’t committed to building the new facilities, and the “hypothetical” proposals could change under various circumstances. The first new production facility would not start operating until around 2034 even if Samsung does proceed. Samsung revealed the plans in part to vie for Texas financial incentives ahead of a program expiration this year.
“We currently do not have specific plans to build at this time, however, the Chapter 313 applications to the State of Texas are part of a long-term planning process of Samsung to evaluate the viability of potentially building additional fabrication plants in the United States,” Samsung said in a statement.
The concentration of chip manufacturing in North Asia has drawn increasing attention from politicians concerned about supply chain disruptions and China’s growing power. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung together dominate the business of making the most advanced chips for customers like Apple Inc.
Besides Austin, Sherman in North Texas has emerged as a hub of the domestic semiconductor universe with silicon wafer-producing GlobiTech planning a $5 billion investment and Dallas-based Texas Instruments investing as much as $30 billion in new chip plants.
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Samsung Eyes $200 Billion Expansion of Chip Plants in Texas
