According to the Wall Street Journal, Korean tech giant Samsung has picked Taylor, Texas as the official site of its new chip m anufacturing plant and is in talks with the local government about it.
This new factory will be around 30 miles away from Austin, where Samsung already has a presence. The Taylor complex will be more than 5 million square metres in size, making it larger than Samsung’s Austin facility.
Along with the company’s latest production line in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, it is also intended to serve as a vital location for the company’s global semiconductor manufacturing capability. The plant’s construction is anticipated to begin in 2022, with mass production beginning in 2024.
Samsung estimates that the $17 billion investment in this new facility would increase production of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence devices and will create approximately 2,000 high-tech jobs once it is fully operational. This will also be Samsung’s largest-ever investment in the United States, bringing the company’s total investment in the country to more than $47 billion.
Previous reports have stated that this plant can create chips as advanced as 3nm, although Samsung has yet to confirm this claim. The expansion comes as the worldwide chip scarcity continues to wreak havoc on everyone from console makers to automakers.
As part of its official statement, Samsung also stated that it will provide financial support to the Taylor Independent School District in order to establish a Samsung Skills Center to help students build skills for future vocations, as well as provide internships and recruiting opportunities.