An agreement has been struck by the Biden administration to give Samsung Electronics up to $6.4 billion in direct assistance to establish a computer chip manufacturing and research center in Texas.
The Commerce Department's financing announcement on Monday is a portion of a larger investment in the cluster that is anticipated to surpass $40 billion when combined with private funds. The CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022 with the intention of restoring the home manufacture of cutting-edge computer chips, provides the government's support.
According to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the planned project will catapult Texas into a cutting-edge semiconductor ecosystem during a teleconference with reporters. By creating 20% of the world's cutting edge chips in the US by the end of the decade, it puts us on track to meet our target.
According to Raimondo, the project is expected to generate around 4,500 manufacturing employment in addition to at least 17,000 construction jobs.
There would be two plants in Samsung's Taylor, Texas cluster that would produce semiconductors with two and four nanometers. There would also be a facility for the packaging that encloses chip components and a factory devoted to research and development.
The government said that the first facility will start producing in 2026 and the second in 2027. Also, an existing Samsung factory in Austin, Texas, would be expanded with the financing.
Samsung will be able to produce semiconductors for the Defense Department directly in Austin as a consequence, according to Lael Brainard, head of the White House National Economic Council. Amidst rivalry between the United States and China, access to cutting-edge technology has emerged as a significant national security problem.
Samsung has stated that it will apply for an investment tax credit from the US Treasury Department in addition to the $6.4 billion. In the past, the government has made plans to fund projects around the nation for other semiconductor manufacturers, such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
