Samsung Builds Second 5nm Chip Factory to Rival TSMC
Samsung starts construction on a new 5nm manufacturing facility in South Korea as part of a massive $116 billion expansion plan. The factory aims to boost the company's contract chip-making business to better compete with industry leader TSMC.
Samsung starts construction on its second 5nm chip manufacturing facility in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. This new factory uses extreme ultraviolet lithography to produce advanced processors, 5G modems, and machine learning chips. The project is a major component of the company's ten-year, $116 billion plan to expand its overall semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The South Korean tech giant seeks to close the gap with TSMC, which currently dominates the contract chip-making market. By adding this second 5nm site, Samsung expands its foundry network to seven facilities worldwide, with six located in South Korea and one in Austin, Texas. This expanded capacity positions Samsung to secure orders from major clients like Apple, Google, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Amazon.
The new Pyeongtaek facility expects to begin taking orders in the second half of 2021. This timeline aligns perfectly with the anticipated launch of Apple's ARM-based Macs and Nvidia's next-generation GPUs, both of which rely on 5nm process technology. Meanwhile, both Samsung and TSMC remain on track to transition to 3nm chip production by late 2022.