Samsung plans to expand memory chip production capacity in Korea

Samsung is the world leader in memory and storage chip segments, and the company has now announced that it plans to expand its NAND flash memory chip production. It will invest in Line 2 at its Pyeongtaek factory to expand the production to meet the increased demand for computers and servers since the COVID-19 lockdown measures were introduced.

The construction of the new facility began last month, and the company says that the mass production of V-NAND flash memory chips will start from the second half of 2021. Samsung says that demand for memory chips will increase in the future due to increased adoption of 5G, AI (artificial intelligence), and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies.

Analysts say that the company would invest anywhere between KRW 7 trillion and KRW 8 trillion for the new facility. The new production line will address the mid-term and long-term demands for NAND flash memory chips. The company plans to invest even more as digital lifestyle continues to evolve. Samsung’s Pyeongtaek Campus is the home to two of the world’s largest memory production lines.

Samsung has been the leader in the memory chip segment for the past 18 years. The company recently announced that its newest memory chip technology, the 160-layer V-NAND flash design, is the first in the industry. It allows even denser chips for higher memory capacity (256Gb 3-bit).

Cheol Choi, Executive Vice President of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics, said, “The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times. We will continue to serve the market with the most optimized solutions available while contributing to the growth of the overall IT industry and the economy in general.“