Samsung's Taylor Fab to Begin Trial Run End of Month Amid 2nm Orders
Samsung Electronics' Taylor wafer fab in Texas, U.S., is expected to enter trial operation around the end of this month, according to South Korea's Munhwa Ilbo. The fab has already seen its pre-production capacity nearly fully booked, driven by a surge in 2nm orders from clients including Tesla, Broadcom, and Arm.
$37 Billion Investment; Initial Monthly Capacity of 50,000 Wafers
The Taylor fab, with a cumulative investment of $37 billion since 2022, is scheduled to start trial runs early next month and mass production next year. Its initial monthly capacity is about 50,000 wafers, approaching TSMC’s roughly 80,000 wafers. The facility will produce Tesla's next-generation AI chip AI5, Broadcom's new communication chips, and Arm's AI chips for smart devices.
2nm Yield Improves to 80%; Order Intake Expected to Double
Samsung's 2nm process yield has risen from about 60% early this year to around 80% recently. The company sent process, equipment, and yield personnel to the Taylor fab in June and began installing equipment in July. At a recent earnings call, Samsung said it expects 2nm orders to more than double year over year, and disclosed that mass production of Nvidia's inference chip Grok3 has already started. Samsung also raised its 4nm foundry prices by up to 15%.
Future Plans and Competitive Landscape
The second Taylor fab is set to break ground later this year and begin mass production in 2030. Samsung has asked major suppliers to complete safety certifications for related production equipment ahead of schedule, with some suppliers considering sending dozens of personnel to the site. Meanwhile, Intel last month issued approximately $20 billion in new shares to expand investments in its 2nm-class 18A and 1.4nm-class 14A processes. Japan's Rapidus completed its 2nm fab in Hokkaido last month and has entered the wafer trial stage. Global competition in advanced process foundry is intensifying.