Generative AI models run on powerful chips known as GPUs, which depend on stacks of specialized memory chips packaged with the processor. To meet growing demand for memory, Samsung is building a massive new semiconductor manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Three fabs already operate around the clock, and a fourth is coming online. Construction of a fifth was halted during a drop in demand for memory chips in 2024 but restarted when the AI boom sent demand soaring.
At midday on a Monday, construction workers pour out of Samsung's fabs in Pyeongtaek, a farming city south of Seoul where rice paddies abut a sprawling chipmaking complex. Thousands of workers, dressed in black with sky-blue vests, walk to lunch past banners advertising short-term studio apartment leases. The campus covers an area about the size of New York City's Central Park.
Choi Hye-rin, a 35-year-old safety officer, oversees a crew building cable ducts. She writes reports, inspects equipment and checks the chemicals workers handle. She is one of hundreds of women on site, many employed as spotters who walk ahead of heavy equipment. Banners on the highest girders read, "Even if the work runs late, don't rush."
Samsung predicts that demand for memory chips will continue to surge through 2028. For years the company watched its domestic rival SK Hynix pull ahead in the global market for the high-bandwidth models that power Nvidia's AI accelerators. The Pyeongtaek build-out is Samsung's attempt to reclaim its lead. Despite brutal heat and crowded work zones, Hye-rin has no plans to leave. She earns 140,000 won ($97) a day and expects the boom to keep her busy: "You just keep coming back."
Source: MIT Technology Review AI · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing