After securing a major order from Tesla, Samsung is investing $7 billion to build a factory in the U.S., targeting Taiwan Semiconductor

After reaching an important cooperation with Tesla, Samsung Electronics is brewing a comeback.

According to media reports on Tuesday, Samsung plans to establish an advanced chip packaging factory in the United States, with an investment amount of up to $7 billion, targeting the U.S. market that has not yet laid out high-end packaging. This will be another significant move for Samsung in the U.S. semiconductor field following the Taylor wafer fab.

This investment will make Samsung one of the first manufacturers to establish high-end packaging facilities in the U.S., seizing market opportunities ahead of TSMC's similar facilities, which are expected to start production by the end of this decade.

Reports indicate that Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-Yong is expected to visit the U.S. soon to participate in trade negotiations, during which he will officially announce this significant investment plan. According to an earlier report by Global Times, South Korea is preparing to "invest in exchange for tariffs," with an investment scale exceeding $100 billion.

Tesla's OEM Orders Activate Samsung's Long-Dormant Foundry Business

In recent years, Samsung's foundry business has been struggling against TSMC, especially in advanced process orders, failing to secure major customer resources. However, the new foundry cooperation agreement with Tesla undoubtedly injects a shot of adrenaline into Samsung, becoming a key turning point for reversing the situation.

According to an earlier article by Wall Street Insight, Samsung Electronics signed a $16.5 billion chip manufacturing agreement with Tesla, with the contract period extending until the end of 2033. Musk later confirmed the cooperation details, stating that Samsung's Texas factory will specifically manufacture Tesla's AI6 chips and noted, "this is just the minimum amount."

This order not only boosts market confidence in Samsung's manufacturing capabilities but also provides a solid foundation for its expansion in the U.S. It is reported that Samsung has completed the basic design of its second-generation 2nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) technology and plans to achieve local packaging through establishing factories in the U.S. to attract more North American customers.

The U.S. Urgently Needs High-End Packaging Capabilities, Samsung Seizes "First-Mover Advantage"

Currently, there are no high-end chip packaging factories established in the U.S., and related facilities from manufacturers like TSMC are not expected to start production until the end of this decade at the earliest. If Samsung can establish itself in the short term, it will not only fill the gap in local packaging capabilities but also hope to seize the first-mover advantage, attracting high-performance computing chip customers like NVIDIA and AMD, challenging TSMC's monopoly in this field.

In addition, unlike TSMC, Samsung adopts an integrated model of "design-manufacturing-packaging," which has advantages in rapid delivery and cost integration, particularly important in the AI chip supply chain.

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-Yong is expected to visit the U.S. soon to participate in ongoing trade negotiations. With this visit, the Korean giant is expected to increase its investment in the U.S. Previously, Samsung planned to invest $44 billion in the U.S. through the Taylor factory, but the investment amount has been reduced due to the economic slowdown Samsung is not the only South Korean company planning to invest heavily in the United States. According to reports, SK Hynix also plans to build advanced DRAM facilities for HBM production to serve key customers such as Nvidia