US President Joe Biden’s administration has reached an agreement to provide up to US$6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics Co to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.
The funding announced yesterday by the US Department of Commerce is part of a total investment in the cluster that, with private money, is expected to exceed US$40 billion.
The government support comes from the CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022 with the goal of reviving the production of advanced computer chips in the US.
Photo: AFP
“The proposed project will propel Texas into a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem,” US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters. “It puts us on track to hit our goal of producing 20 percent of the world’s leading edge chips in the United States by the end of the decade.”
Raimondo said she expects the project to create at least 17,000 construction jobs and more than 4,500 manufacturing jobs.
Samsung’s cluster in Taylor, Texas, would include two factories that would make 4-nanometer and two-nanometer chips. There would also be a factory dedicated to research and development, as well as a facility for the packaging that surrounds chip components.
The first factory would begin production in 2026, with the second starting in 2027, the US government said.
The funding would also expand an existing Samsung facility in Austin, Texas.
As a result, Samsung would be able to manufacture chips in Austin directly for the US Department of Defense, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said.
Access to advanced technology has become a major national security concern amid competition between the US and China.
In addition to the US$6.4 billion, Samsung has indicated it would also claim an investment tax credit from the US Department of Treasury.
The US government has previously announced terms to support other chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Intel Corp, in projects spread across the country.
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