Samsung will reportedly break ground on its second chip fab in Taylor, Texas this November, with mass production targeted for 2030. DigiTimes, citing South Korea's The Guru, reports that Taylor Fab 2 will span roughly 2.7 million square feet. Samsung also appears to have confirmed the timing at an October 15 event near the site, where Jonathan Taylor of Samsung Austin Semiconductor said construction should start early next month and that Fab 2 will be "one and a half times bigger than Fab One."
In July, Samsung admitted that its leading-edge capacity was lagging customer demand, while inquiries for its 1.4 nm process, a node it was reportedly considering shelving last year, kept climbing. The process for Fab 2 hasn't been disclosed yet. The first Taylor fab, which has slipped well past its original 2024 target, seems to be on track this time. Installed tools have started running processes as the plant goes through staged qualification. Fab 1 uses EUV lithography for Samsung's 2 nm process, with operations planned by the end of 2026 and volume production in 2027. Its best-known customer is Tesla, which signed a $16.5 billion deal running through 2033 that covers the AI6 chip, and Samsung is also set to build Tesla's AI5 on 2 nm in Texas. How orders will be split between the two fabs is unknown. Samsung plans to invest over $37 billion across Central Texas, backed by up to $4.745 billion in CHIPS Act funding. Given how long Fab 1 took, it's reasonable to expect that the 2030 target will depend heavily on demand.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing