US Finalises Billions In Awards To Samsung, Texas Instruments

The US Commerce Department has finalised an award of up to $4.745 billion (£3.8bn) in direct funding to Samsung Electronics and $1.61bn to Texas Instruments as part of Chips and Science Act funding to build up semiconductor manufacturing within the US.

An additional award of up to $407m was earmarked for a plan by Amkor Technology to build the US’ biggest chip packaging plant in Arizona.

The award to Samsung is about $1.7bn smaller than the provisional award announced in April of up to $6.4bn to reflect Samsung’s own reduced investment plans, according to the agency.

The funding supports Samsung’s planned investment of $37bn in the coming years to expand its presence in central Texas, including building two new leading-edge logic fabrication plants and a research and development facility in Taylor, Texas.

Revised award

Samsung is also planning to use the funding to expand its existing Austin facility, the agency said.

The Samsung investment makes the US the only country in the world with facilities from all five of the largest chip manufacturers, said US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The funding is designed to ensure a domestic supply of “the most advanced semiconductors that are essential to AI and national security, while also creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and transforming communities across the country”, she said.

Samsung said in a statement its “mid-to-long-term investment plan has been partially revised to optimise overall investment efficiency”.

In April Commerce officials said Samsung planned to invest roughly $45bn in its Texas operations by 2030, compared to the $37bn announced on Friday.

Texas Instruments is receiving $900m to support its planned investment in Texas and $700m to support investments in Utah.

Domestic chips

The company is planning to invest a total of $18bn through 2029 in the two areas.

Amkor’s Arizona plant will serve Apple as its first and largest customer with packaging services for chips produced by TSMC at a nearby facility.

The Commerce Department finalised $6.6bn in funding for the TSMC Arizona operations in November.

The department has also finalised awards to Intel, SK Hynix, Micron and others ahead of the end of president Joe Biden’s term of office on 19 January.

Intel’s award was reduced to $7.86bn from a preliminary $8.5bn award after the company won a separate $3bn contract to manufacture chips for the military, called the Secure Enclave programme.