[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] SamsungElectronics and TSMC are touring major U.S. universities to recruit top talent. As both companies push forward with production using cutting-edge foundry processes—such as 2-nanometer technology—at their U.S. factories, securing specialized personnel commensurate with their astronomical investments is emerging as a key factor that will determine their future production competitiveness.

According to industry sources on the 24th, TSMC will kick off its “Fall U.S. Campus Tour” targeting major U.S. universities starting next month. The company will visit leading engineering schools in succession, including UC Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, UCLA, Cornell University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Purdue University.

It is particularly noteworthy that TSMC has included Texas A&M University and UT Austin in its tour itinerary—both located in Texas, where SamsungElectronics has production hubs in Austin and Taylor. Since SamsungElectronics is also actively recruiting talent at these universities, the two companies are set to face off head-to-head in the local talent acquisition race.

TSMC is also seeking to recruit talent in Arizona, its home turf where a large-scale, state-of-the-art foundry fab is currently under construction. The schedule for campus tours at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University will be announced at a later date.

TSMC will invest an additional $100 billion (approximately 148 trillion won) in Arizona, on top of the previously announced $165 billion, to expand its production facilities for cutting-edge processes of 2 nanometers or smaller. Once the plan is completed, the U.S. will be home to 10 foundry plants, two advanced packaging plants, and one research and development (R&D) center. This is a massive project to establish TSMC’s semiconductor ecosystem—ranging from wafer production to advanced packaging and research and development (R&D)—locally in the U.S.

In addition, TSMC is actively reaching out to major engineering schools in California—including Stanford University and UC Berkeley, the two pillars of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, as well as UCLA and UC San Diego—to secure talent in various fields that support production operations, such as process engineers (PE), advanced packaging (APTD), and intelligent manufacturing (IMC).

SamsungElectronics is also countering this move by hosting “Campus Career Days” starting today at Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Purdue University. Next month, it will expand its recruitment efforts to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW-Madison). SamsungElectronics will introduce its recruitment process to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students and provide information on the various business units and research institutes within its Semiconductor (DS) Division, as well as internship and job opportunities. Following the information sessions, the company will conduct recruitment activities by directly identifying top talent through individual consultations.

SamsungElectronics has long been laying the groundwork for securing local talent through industry-academia partnerships with U.S. universities. In 2023, the company signed a partnership with the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and provided $3.7 million (approximately 5 billion won) in funding; its cumulative investment now totals $6 million (approximately 8.2 billion won). To foster local talent, the company has launched a Master of Science in Semiconductor Engineering (MSSE) program in collaboration with UT Austin and provides support for scholarships for outstanding students, master’s research projects, and internships.

The company is also continuing to recruit talent from institutions such as Texas A&M University, located near its Austin production hub, and is expanding investments to secure a leading position in the local semiconductor talent pool.

An industry official stated, “SamsungElectronics’ support for programs like the MSSE is one of the ways it is responding to the labor demand in the U.S. semiconductor industry,” adding, “Even if the company invests massive capital to secure production hubs, it will be difficult to maintain competitiveness without engineers capable of designing and operating cutting-edge processes.”