South Korean giant Samsung Electronics has commenced the approval process for constructing a second cutting-edge chip contract manufacturing facility in Texas, as reported by TrendForce.
The corporation has already submitted its application to greenlight the Fab 2 project, which is slated for the city of Taylor on a sizable plot spanning approximately 513 hectares. This land parcel has the capacity to host up to ten similar manufacturing plants. The planned new site will be dedicated to undertaking contract fabrication of advanced semiconductors and will occupy an area comparable to Samsung’s initial factory in the same locality.
Construction work on Fab 1 in Taylor has been ongoing since 2022. The company has repeatedly adjusted its schedules and technology roadmaps due to various unforeseen circumstances. In February of this year, Samsung secured authorization from Texas authorities for a partial production rollout at its first facility. The full commissioning of Fab 1 is currently anticipated in 2027, with notable clients expected to include Tesla and potentially Nvidia. Rumor suggests the South Korean manufacturer has already lined up 121 customers for this initial plant.
Last quarter, Samsung’s revenue derived from its contract manufacturing operations rose by 6.7% year-over-year compared to the third quarter of the preceding year, reaching a total of $3.4 billion. The company’s global market share for contract services consequently grew from 6.8% to 7.1%. Furthermore, a substantial long-term agreement was finalized with Tesla, valued at $16.5 billion, specifically for producing chips designed by the American developer. Production of Tesla’s AI5 chips is forecasted to commence midway through next year.
In the United States, Samsung aims to master the fabrication of 2-nanometer chips, a capability that could grant it a temporary competitive edge over TSMC. Taiwan’s rival faces impediments in achieving this in the coming years due to existing legislative restrictions imposed by Taiwan itself.
The development of advanced microelectronics production across various nations is frequently subject to scheduling delays and plan revisions. The online publication “ZHUK” previously noted that the mass production and delivery of base stations for the company “NatsSpektr” have been pushed back to the 2026–2027 timeframe, contrasting with earlier expectations that equipment output would begin as soon as 2025. Currently, “NatsSpektr” is focused on preparing the necessary production site infrastructure.
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