Samsung may be pursuing the top silicon fabrication spot as its competitors continue to deal with their own problems. Samsung is part of the current big 3 of semiconductor manufacturers in the world but Samsung has always wanted to get its western influence a bit deeper. This may change soon as Samsung is reportedly in talks with US regulators in Texas, New York and Arizona about the creation of a new $17 billion silicon manufacturing plant. The factory is expected to start operation in 2023 and will be located in Austin, Texas. The plant is expected to create plenty of jobs for the locale, reports says potentially around 1800 jobs will be created by the plant.
Its not yet clear what process Samsung will have on their US plant. Early speculations suggest the 3nm node using Samsung’s GAAFET (Gate All Around FET) technology on the new plant as well as their EUV tech lithography. Samsung’s current S2 plant in the US will continue to operate as normal, proceeding to serve its current customer base and will not see any new upgrades side-by-side with the new plant. The new plant will be a totally new factory with its own facilities built from the ground up for future nodes. Samsung will not have R&D facilities in the new fab as it will only be a full manufacturing facility.