Government
BY BRITTANY ANDERSON, GRACE DICKENS & HALEY MCLEOD
Samsung Electronics signed a preliminary agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce on April 15, receiving $6.4 billion in government subsidies in exchange for an estimated $45 billion total investment within the region surrounding the Taylor manufacturing plant under construction and existing North Austin facility. The proposed investment will support the creation of more than 20,000 jobs over the next ve years, according to a news release. The funding will develop future generations of industry-leading technologists and engineers, said Lael Brainard, White House national economic advisor. In addition to a fabrication plant and packaging facility, the project will invest funds into an expansion of the Samsung facility in North Austin. Samsung's $45B investment
Industry leaders Texas and California have the two largest semiconductor industries in the nation, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. For 2022:
Some context
Texas is known as the birthplace of the semicon- ductor chip, a product that revolutionized modern technology by allowing devices such as phones to become small enough and fast enough to integrate into everyday life, per the O ce of the Texas Governor. Accordingly, Texas has led the nation in semiconductor exports in the United States for the last decade. The federal funding—from the Creating Help- ful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act signed into e ect in 2022—will help expand Samsung’s footprint in Taylor to include an advanced packaging facility, a research and devel- opment center, and a second fabrication plant. The federal legislation was signed with the intent to strengthen manufacturing and supply chains in America, with the goal to produce 20% of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by 2030, according to a news release. The April announce- ment marks the nal string of CHIPS and Science Act grants from the White House.
Texas
California
Number of workers Amount in exports
43,800
63,300
$22 billion
$11.3 billion
SOURCE: SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
“Williamson County has become a world leader in developing an ecosystem for the
semiconductor industry. Its impact will be felt for generations to come.” BILL GRAVELL, WILLIAMSON COUNTY JUDGE
Investing in tech
Put in perspective
in government subsidies awarded
to Samsung $6.4B
semiconductor industry, including a master’s degree program o ering a major in semiconductor science and engineering, and a new partnership with ACC and the Texas Institute for Electronics to create a semiconductor training center. Over a quarter of existing positions in Texas require a graduate degree and one-third of the work- force is expected to retire within the next decade, according to a 2023 report from the Semiconductor Industry Association.
To support the largest semiconductor industry in the U.S., the recent federal and Samsung invest- ments will also help build a local workforce with educational programs. “It will build on Samsung’s proven record of workforce engagement in Texas, including robust partnerships with local education institutions like Austin Community College,” Brainard said. Similarly, The University of Texas announced in March and April programs to support the growing
total Samsung investment in
Taylor and Central Texas $45B
jobs created in construction and manufacturing over ve years 20K
facilities to be added in Taylor under new investment
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SOURCES: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Looking forward
What’s next?
CHIPS Act signed into law
2022
Construction on Production Facility 1 begins Production Facility 1 to become operational in July Production Facility 1 to be available for full-scale production Production Facility 2 with research center and packaging facility operational
than where we started because all arti cial intelligence is run on and trained on by chips,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Raimondo highlighted the impressive scale of the initial fabrication facility under construction in Taylor, which spans an area equivalent to 11 full-size football elds. With the addition of CHIPS funding, the Taylor site will have two facilities of this size.
The investments from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Samsung indicate plans to build a cluster of semiconductor factories in Central Texas. Samsung will also use the funding for facility expansion in Austin. Over two dozen suppliers have already committed to the coming to the region, according to White House senior administration o cials. “All of this, of course, is more important
2024
2026
2027
2028
Austin Samsung facility expansion to begin
SOURCE: U.S. WHITE HOUSE COMMUNITY IMPACT
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