Samsung Electronics’ already stalled semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, is now reported to be revived by a new $16.5 billion contract to produce next-generation AI chips for Tesla.
This major deal provides the necessary customer commitment for Samsung to proceed with its plans to turn the Taylor facility into the world’s leading advanced chip manufacturing center. A new report revealed that Samsung is looking forward to dispatching engineers to Taylor to install the production line and will continue to add more staff in November.
Initially, the Korean tech giant planned to introduce a 4 nm production line, but unfortunately, the plan was suspended back in 2023. The key reason behind the suspension was a lack of customers and a downturn in the global chip market. Now, with the collaboration with Tesla, Samsung has restarted the project and also upgraded it to 2 nm, which appears as a strategic step forward in the semiconductor race.
Reportedly, Samsung will install a 2 nm line with a capacity of 16,000-17,000 12-inch wafers per month. The AI chip for Tesla could be in mass production from late 2026 or early 2027, as the optimization process is expected to take almost 11 months. The overall investment for this phase is estimated at 4 billion USD, which is about 100 trillion VND.
An expert stated, “Samsung has escaped the impasse thanks to Tesla. This could be a turning point for the company to consolidate its position in the US and regain trust in the Foundry segment, which has been far behind TSMC for many years.”
Samsung also seems to target other strategic customers, for instance, Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD, while maintaining a long-term plan to build two factories with four clean rooms, with a capacity of up to 70,000 wafers per month.
