South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co SSNLF is set to announce a substantial $44 billion investment in U.S. chipmaking, possibly as early as next week.
What Happened: The world’s leading memory-chip manufacturer is anticipated to disclose the project in Taylor, Texas, in the presence of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
Samsung has obtained over $6 billion in U.S. government grants for the investment, which has ballooned to a total of $44 billion spread over several years.
This investment aligns with Washington’s larger strategy to repatriate semiconductor production to the U.S. The Biden administration is utilizing the 2022 Chips and Science Act to invigorate American chipmaking, which has seen production drift to Asia over the past decades.
The Chips Act, which earmarked $39 billion in grants plus $75 billion in loans and guarantees, has already catalyzed over $200 billion in private semiconductor investments. It is yet to be determined whether Samsung will receive loan awards in addition to the $6 billion-plus in government grants.
The announcement will initiate a due diligence period, during which Samsung and the Commerce Department will finalize the terms of their agreement. The funds will be disbursed as the project reaches key construction and production milestones.
Why It Matters: Earlier this year, Samsung took steps to revamp its chip technology to better align with the requirements of AI chip industry leaders, including NVIDIA Corp NVDA and Micron Technology MU.
In February, Samsung announced a collaboration with Arm Holdings Plc ARM to deliver the next-generation Arm Cortex-X CPU using Samsung Foundry's latest Gate-All-Around (GAA) process technology.
Despite a projected significant rise in its first-quarter operating profit, Samsung’s stock has underperformed due to HBM. Furthermore, investor interest in Samsung has been sparked by a recent block deal, where Lee Boo-jin offloaded a stake in a $330 million transaction.
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Benzinga Neuro, Edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
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