Samsung rushes early equipment sign-off for its second Texas chip fab

Samsung Electronics has asked its equipment suppliers to secure safety certification for tools headed to a second chip plant in Taylor, Texas.

Samsung is attempting to fast-track the build schedule despite the factory’s specifications not being set yet. The company is willing to run to hit a 2030 production date while AI chip demand continues to outstrip supply.

What certification has Samsung told its suppliers to get?

Samsung Electronics is asking its equipment suppliers for a SEMI certification, which is a standard industry safety check that equipment must pass before it can be shipped to another country.

Suppliers typically only start the certification process after a factory’s specifications are finalized, but Samsung has told several of its tool suppliers to get this certification ahead of the launch of the planned second chip plant in Taylor, Texas, as a way to save time for faster installation later.

Concrete plans for the factory are expected to become clearer by the end of the year, with production expected by 2030.

The first Taylor factory already has Tesla as a major customer. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) signed a foundry contract worth about 22.76 trillion Korean won ($14.09 billion) with Samsung last year. The contract revived the Taylor timeline, which had been delayed several times due to weak demand and a lack of customers.

The first factory is set to open this year and will start trial production as early as next month, focusing on 2-nanometer production.

The second factory is yet to have a customer of its own, and industry sources say the second factory’s timeline depends on whether Tesla expands its orders or a new large customer signs up.

Samsung’s construction unit, Samsung E&A, is reportedly preparing to send dozens of staff to the Taylor site to support the work.

How much progress has Samsung made with its second factory?

In an interview, the mayor of Taylor, Jim Buzan, said that Samsung “put in the piers and foundation” for the second plant while it was still building the first. The mayor said Samsung “preplanned it several years back,” and shared that he expects this head start to let Samsung move faster on the second factory than it did on the first.

Samsung’s reported figures put its initial minimum Taylor investment at $17 billion, its biggest ever in the United States. The company has owned the land for its Taylor chip site since 2021, and has it zoned for as many as 10 factories.

Around 100 Samsung employees have already moved to Taylor, and the total number of newcomers is likely to reach several hundred once partner company staff arrive.

Mayor Buzan said Samsung has not received any of the $4.745 billion in CHIPS and Science Act money awarded to it in 2024. These funds are usually tied to milestones like finishing construction or starting commercial production.

The city has no information on when, or if, the federal government will release it.

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