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| Samsung plans to manufacture 3nm processors |
Samsung plans to spend more than $ 10 billion building a new, state-of-the-art chip plant in Austin, Texas, according to Bloomberg News.
The factory can make processors as advanced as 3nm. It will be the third Samsung plant in the world to use UV lithography to make the foil.
If the plan continues, construction of the facility will begin this year and operations will begin as soon as possible in 2023.
Amid the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, Samsung could gain a foothold with the most advanced manufacturing facility in the US to attract new business from US customers.
The move also led Samsung to closely compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which makes chips for Apple, including the 5nm processors used in Apple's latest iPhones and Macs.
TSMC is also investing in a US facility that has a $ 12 billion manufacturing base in Arizona and is expected to begin manufacturing these chips in 2024.
In a statement sent to Bloomberg, the South Korean company said it had not yet made a decision on its plans to build a new plant in the United States.
Reuters reported earlier that Samsung plans to invest $ 116 billion in chips over the next decade.
Chips made in Austin are believed to be limited to 14nm manufacturing technology at this time, and Samsung hopes to start rolling out chips based on 3nm manufacturing technology by 2022.
Although the power of the Korean giant has traditionally been in memory chips, Bloomberg indicated that the market for logical devices such as smartphones and computer processors is more profitable.
Samsung's factory plans are said to be in their early stages, but some initial steps have been taken.
Samsung has acquired 440,000 square feet of land in Austin, where it has enjoyed industrial status since the 1990s, according to a report by Nikkei Asian Review last December.
Last year, city officials began considering the company's request to reclassify the land for industrial use.
The completion of the deal may depend on Samsung's tax incentives and support negotiations with the Biden government, although Bloomberg has said it could continue without the deal.
Samsung produces Qualcomm and Nvidia chips. It is said that he will sign a new agreement with Intel. The Korea Times reports that Samsung will produce 15,000 Intel graphics chips at its Austin facility in the second half of this year.
Pat Gelsinger, future Intel CEO, said outsourcing could be part of the company's future. While the company plans to continue producing most of its chips internally, it can outsource some of its technology and products in 2023.
Bloomberg noted that the South Korean giant uses companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google that it hopes to develop its chips and use external sources to manufacture them, such as Samsung and TSMC.
Not only does Samsung produce chips for others, but it also produces Exynos brand processors for use in smartphones.
Samsung still faces huge challenges to compete with TSMC, and TSMC plans to invest $ 28 billion this year alone.
In contrast, Samsung invested $ 26 billion in semiconductors last year, and Bloomberg notes that it was primarily to support the memory business.