Samsung's New Chip Factory in Texas May Be Delayed to 2026
According to TapTechNews on June 23rd, the soon-to-be-built new chip factory of Samsung in Taylor, Texas may not be fully operational until 2026. MySA reported that the first phase of the project has been completed and can be put into operation. But the chip production of the factory still needs more time. The company plans to produce advanced process (4nm and more advanced) chips in the new factory.
The soon-to-be-built new factory will be Samsung's second chip factory in the US, and the first one is located in Austin, Texas, which has been in operation since 1996. Samsung started construction at the new site in 2021 and planned to put it into operation in 2024. However, due to various factors, the project was postponed.
In December 2023, the Korean media reported that Samsung planned to postpone the commissioning time of the Taylor factory to 2025. The report also revealed that the total estimated cost of the project increased from 17 billion US dollars to 25 billion US dollars (TapTechNews note: currently about 181.994 billion RMB). The significant increase in material costs, construction costs and other indirect expenses led to the cost increase.
Although Samsung has not encountered other major construction setbacks in recent months, a new report from MySA said that the factory will not be fully operational until 2026. The construction work may be completed sometime next year, but the company plans to start producing chips only in the following year.Perhaps it will still take time to install the chip equipment and other auxiliary facilities and make all preparations for large-scale production. Samsung said that this is consistent with the postponement announced in 2023 and is not an additional postponement.
Samsung has announced its third chip factory in the US, which will also be located in Taylor, Texas. The estimated cost of these two factories may reach about 44 billion US dollars, but the cost may increase as the construction progresses. The new project also includes a research and development center and an advanced packaging facility.
Samsung has received 6.4 billion US dollars in financial support provided by the US government under the Chip and Science Act. This act aims to attract large chip designers and manufacturers to set up factories in the US and develop the local chip design and manufacturing ecosystem, thereby reducing the US's dependence on China and South Korea.
It is reported that the factory of Samsung will create 17,000 construction jobs and 4,500 manufacturing jobs in Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation has recently opened a new four-lane highway named Samsung Boulevard to improve the transportation between Samsung's Taylor factory and Austin factory.