Samsung To Build $17 Billion Chip Factory In Texas, Marking Largest Ever Foreign Investment Into The State

Samsung will build a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Taylor, Texas — marking the largest foreign direct investment in the state’s history.

The investment comes as a global computer chip shortage threatens American businesses, especially in the automobile industry.

A statement from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) says that Samsung chose the Lone Star State due to its business-friendly climate:

The new manufacturing facility will produce advanced logic chips that will power next-generation devices for applications such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI).

The project will create over 2,000 high-tech jobs, thousands of indirect jobs, and a minimum of 6,500 construction jobs. Construction will begin in early 2022 with a target of production start in the second half of 2024. The $17 billion in capital investments includes buildings, property improvements, machinery, and equipment.

A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $27,000,000 has been extended to Samsung for their job creation. In addition, Samsung has been offered a $20,000 Veteran Created Job Bonus.   

“Companies like Samsung continue to invest in Texas because of our world-class business climate and exceptional workforce,” said Governor Abbott. “Samsung’s new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor will bring countless opportunities for hardworking Central Texans and their families and will play a major role in our state’s continued exceptionalism in the semiconductor industry.”

“As one of the largest foreign investment economic development projects in United States history, to say Samsung’s commitment to this project is monumental would be a huge understatement,” added Taylor Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Mark Thomas.

As The Daily Wire reported last week, supply chain bottlenecks are restricting the availability of semiconductors and other key inputs for American firms. Ford struck a strategic agreement with GlobalFoundries to develop chips, while General Motors is likewise pursuing relationships with manufacturers.

Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reports that firms across the globe are racing to produce more semiconductors:

Samsung’s doubling down on Texas where it already has a footprint comes amid a year of historic spending for the semiconductor industry, spurred by government incentives seeking to attract local production. A global chip shortage has undercut many industries from smartphones and home appliances to cars.

Samsung, the world’s largest semiconductor maker by revenue, plans to invest more than $205 billion over the next three years, with chip-making a priority. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has earmarked more than $100 billion over the next three years to build new chip factories. Intel Corp. has also unveiled more than $100 billion worth of semiconductor factory investments plans in the U.S. and Europe over the coming decade.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year that he has “never seen anything like” the semiconductor shortage.

“Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips,” Musk said on social media, comparing his company’s decision to “overorder” various products to the “toilet paper shortage” that occurred at the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States.

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