Samsung Electronics confirmed a $40 billion investment to build two advanced semiconductor fabrication plants in Taylor, Texas, with production expected to begin in 2028. The facilities will produce chips using Samsung's 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) process technology, suitable for AI accelerators, high-performance computing, and next-generation mobile processors. The investment was supported by approximately $6.4 billion in CHIPS Act subsidies from the US government.
The CHIPS Act Effect
The CHIPS and Science Act, signed in August 2022, allocated $52.7 billion to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Samsung's investment is the largest single foreign commitment under the programme. TSMC is building three fabs in Arizona ($65 billion total), while Intel has committed $100 billion across facilities in Arizona, Ohio, and New Mexico.
The reshoring of chip manufacturing reflects concerns about supply chain vulnerability. Taiwan produces approximately 90% of the world's most advanced semiconductors, and any disruption from natural disaster or geopolitical tensions could affect the entire global technology industry.
HBM Memory Demand
Samsung is also ramping up production of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips, which are essential components in AI training hardware. NVIDIA's H100 and H200 GPUs each require several stacks of HBM. Samsung's HBM3E chips compete with SK Hynix, which currently leads the market with approximately 50% share. Samsung has been working to improve yields on its latest HBM products after facing quality issues that led NVIDIA to favour SK Hynix chips.
Implications for Crypto Mining
Advanced semiconductor manufacturing also affects the crypto mining industry. Bitcoin ASIC miners rely on the most efficient chip fabrication processes available. As Samsung and TSMC push toward 2nm and below, the next generation of mining hardware could deliver significant efficiency improvements.
For Samsung investor updates, visit Samsung IR. For CHIPS Act details, see NIST CHIPS Programme.