Samsung Electronics Co and Texas Instruments Inc completed final agreements to get billions of US dollars of government support for new semiconductor plants in the US, cementing a major piece of US President Joe Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act initiative.

Under binding agreements unveiled Friday, Samsung would get as much as US$4.75 billion in funding, while Texas Instruments stands to receive US$1.6 billion — money that would help them build facilities in Texas and Utah. The final deals mean the chipmakers can begin collecting the funding when their projects hit certain benchmarks.

Though the terms of Texas Instruments’ final agreement is in line with a preliminary deal, Samsung is getting substantially less than originally expected.
 

Samsung Electronics Co’s logo is pictured at its booth during the 26th Semiconductor Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 23.
(Photo: Reuters)

“Our mid-to-long-term investment plan has been partially revised to optimize overall investment efficiency,” Samsung said in a statement, indicating that its project would not be as large as originally planned.

The CHIPS Act, signed into law by Biden in 2022, set aside US$39 billion in grants, loans and loan guarantees worth US$75 billion and 25 percent tax credits. It aims to boost US semiconductor production after decades of manufacturing shifting abroad.

Officials have divvied up most of that money, with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo racing to finalize as many deals as possible before leaving office.

The latest awards round out the program’s biggest grants, helping ensure that there is comprehensive local production of semiconductors. Texas Instruments is the largest maker of analog chips and embedded processors. Samsung is the world’s top maker of memory chips and a major provider of advanced outsourced production for other companies.

China has boosted its manufacturing capacity of analog and embedded chips, attempting to be more self-reliant in this vital area. That has made it all the more important for the US to do the same.

In a separate announcement, the US Department of Commerce also firmed up plans to deliver US$407 million in direct funding to Amkor Technology Inc. The money would support that company’s investment in Arizona, where it is building more capacity for what is called advanced packaging.

Texas Instruments’ award would help fund three new large plants: two in Sherman, Texas, and one in Lehi, Utah. They would create 2,000 new positions for the Dallas-based company, it said.

Samsung is expanding its facilities in central Texas. That would include work on so-called logic chips — components that act as the brains of systems — and a research and design facility in Taylor. The company also would be expanding an existing site in Austin.

Texas Instruments has said it plans to spend about US$40 billion to build five new US factories: one in Utah and four in Texas. The government funding supports just the first two Texas factories, since officials are prioritizing projects that would be in production by the end of the decade.


Taipei Time