US grants Samsung $6.4 billion to boost local chip production
Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics, pointed out that although the direct funding grant awarded to Samsung is lower than those awarded to Intel and TSMC, it is the largest relative to the size of the company’s promised investment.
Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics, pointed out that although the direct funding grant awarded to Samsung is lower than those awarded to Intel and TSMC, it is the largest relative to the size of the company’s promised investment. TSMC’s investment is expected to exceed $65 billion. Intel anticipates its investments will surpass $100 billion over the next five years.
Investing in two separate locations
The proposed investment to Samsung is planned for two separate locations in Central Texas.
In Taylor, the funds will help establish a comprehensive, advanced manufacturing ecosystem. This will include two advanced logic foundry fabs dedicated to the mass production of 4nm and 2nm process technologies, an R&D fab for the development of future technology generations, and an advanced packaging facility focused on 3D High Bandwidth Memory and 2.5D packaging, both critical for AI applications.
In Austin, the investment will expand existing facilities to enhance the production of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) process technologies. This expansion aims to support crucial US industries, including aerospace, defense, and automotive, by upgrading their technological capabilities and innovation potential.
Challenges to overcome
While analysts agree that this move could potentially stimulate the domestic tech industry, becoming a leader in chip manufacturing may not be easy for the US.
Faruqui said that a significant challenge is the non-competitive Fab/ATP site-level Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which aggregates all Capex and Opex cost structures for each year of construction and high-volume operation.
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