U.S. Commerce Department provides $6.4 billion to Samsung for Texas chip factory

The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday announced a $6.4 billion grant to South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co to help fund a new chip manufacturing center in Tyler, Texas, and expand an existing factory in nearby Austin.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a White House statement that the grants, part of the 2022 Chips and Science Act passed by Congress, will help Samsung increase its investment in Texas to more than $40 million and create More than 20,000 jobs.

“These facilities will support the production of some of the most powerful chips in the world that are critical for advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and will enhance U.S. national security,” Biden said in a statement.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that Samsung’s new factory in Tyler will include a new research and development facility as well as an advanced packaging plant, the final step before semiconductors are used in electronic systems.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement: “The chips Samsung will produce in Texas are an important part of our most advanced technologies, from artificial intelligence to high-performance computing and 5G communications.

CHIPS Act investments like this are intended to spur continued private sector investment and help create a U.S.-based semiconductor supply chain, she said.

Last week, the Commerce Department announced similar funding for a factory being built by TSMC in Phoenix, Arizona, and for U.S. chipmaker Intel’s plant in Santa Clara, California.

Information for this report was provided in part by The Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.