[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] Global companies are accelerating their efforts to expand foundry production facilities in the United States. While TSMC, the world’s leading foundry, is considering new investments in Texas, U.S.-based GlobalFoundries (GF) is building a factory in New York with Japanese funding. This trend stems from a combination of U.S. customers’ demands for local production and the U.S. government’s push for investment from its allies. With SamsungElectronics set to begin operations at its Taylor, Texas, plant, competition to secure U.S. customers is expected to intensify further.

According to industry sources on the 16th, TSMC Chairman Wei Zhe-jia stated during a third-quarter earnings conference call the previous day that major U.S. customers are requesting an expansion of local semiconductor production capacity, adding, “We have already dispatched a team to Texas to conduct an assessment.” Although there are differences of opinion regarding the plant’s operational model, TSMC is also in discussions with “TerraFab,” the semiconductor plant being developed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The scale and timing of the investment have not yet been determined.

TSMC is already expanding its production facilities in Arizona with a total investment of $265 billion (approximately 380 trillion won). The company is establishing a comprehensive presence ranging from the production of semiconductor wafers for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) to advanced packaging and research and development. Construction of a second factory is underway, with mass production scheduled to begin in the third quarter of next year. U.S. customers are requesting domestic investment for reasons such as supply chain diversification. Since cutting-edge semiconductor production is concentrated in Taiwan, the goal is to reduce geopolitical risks stemming from U.S.-China tensions and secure a stable supply of products.

Amid this trend, the methods of investing in semiconductor infrastructure within the U.S. are also diversifying. On the 14th, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce would allocate up to $21 billion (approximately 30 trillion won) of Japanese investment funds into two semiconductor factories being built in Malta, New York. This marks the first time that 100% of Japanese funds have been directly invested in semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure in the United States. Construction on the first plant is scheduled to begin this year, with operations set to start in 2029, while a decision on whether to build the second plant will be made by the end of 2028.

In exchange for providing the funding, Japan will jointly own the plants with the U.S., securing supply opportunities for its domestic semiconductor equipment manufacturers and a procurement base for semiconductors produced by GF. GF will reduce the burden of initial investments amounting to tens of trillions of won while generating revenue from technology provision and plant operations for at least 20 years. The U.S. government also plans to acquire an additional approximately 4% stake in GF through a separate agreement, increasing its total stake to about 7%. In addition, Intel is currently building two state-of-the-art semiconductor factories in Ohio, targeting operations in 2030–2031.

As competition among U.S. production hubs intensifies, SamsungElectronics’ strategy to secure additional customers for its Taylor plant is expected to become increasingly important. While GF focuses primarily on mature processes—which differ from the core processes at the Taylor plant—if TSMC expands its production footprint to Texas, the pressure on SamsungElectronics to win orders from U.S. customers could increase.

SamsungElectronics is developing its Taylor Plant 1 as a core hub for advanced foundry operations. Taylor Plant 1 has begun trial production on some production lines and is preparing to begin full-scale operations within the year. Construction on Taylor Plant 2 is also scheduled to begin late this year, with mass production targeted for 2030.

SamsungElectronics’ strategy for its Taylor plants is to use its supply to Tesla as a springboard to expand its customer base in the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) sectors and strengthen its competitiveness in the 2-nanometer process. Last July, the company secured an order worth 23 trillion won from Tesla for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Going forward, stable mass production, yield rates, and the signing of additional long-term supply contracts are expected to be key variables in the U.S. foundry market.

U.S. demands for expanded local semiconductor production could extend beyond foundries to the memory sector as well. Consequently, both SamsungElectronics and SK hynix are likely to face pressure regarding the expansion of their U.S. production facilities and the schedules for completing and operating new plants.