Samsung is heavily investing in chip manufacturing. The company is spending billions of dollars to set up new manufacturing facilities in South Korea and other countries, particularly the United States. Samsung's P3 line in Pyeongtaek is now operational.
This is the largest chip manufacturing facility ever built by Samsung. The company announced today that advanced NAND flash chips are now being manufactured on this line.
Samsung remains interested in buying chip companies
Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus has emerged as the company's most important manufacturing hub for semiconductors. The various manufacturing facilities here are used to fabricate everything from 13nm DRAM to sub-5nm logic chips.
The company is using state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet lithography machines sourced from Netherlands-based ASML, the world's only supplier of these high-tech machines, to make advanced chips. Samsung has spared no expense in sourcing these machines which remain in high demand from other contract chip manufacturers, including Taiwan-based TSMC.
Samsung will continue to expand its facilities at the 2.9 million square meter Pyeongtaek campus. The company has already begun foundation for another new line, P4, to further increase its manufacturing capacity.
The company wants to ensure that it becomes a leader in this space. Earlier reports have suggested that it may look to acquire semiconductor companies to expand its footprint. Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO and president of Samsung's device solutions division, hinted at that possibility at a press event today. “I can't give you details about potential targets, but we have set our priority and been reviewing our options,” local media quoted him as saying.
With Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong return to management duties, the conglomerate is in a much better position now to make significant decisions related to mergers and acquisitions.
