Samsung Electronics has announced it will increase its investment in logic businesses through 2030 to a total of 171 trillion won, approximately $151 billion.
Back in 2019, the South Korean tech giant pledged to spend 133 trillion won through 2030 to its logic businesses.
Samsung said it was adding 38 trillion won to that original investment in order to accelerate advanced research and expand its production facilities.
The South Korean tech giant has two logic businesses, Samsung System LSI and Samsung Foundry. System LSI designs logic chips while Foundry is a contract chip production unit.
By adding more investment, expansion of its Foundry unit “will help fuel entire new industries built on next-generation technologies like AI, 5G and autonomous driving,” the tech giant said.
Samsung also announced that it has begun construction of a new production line at its plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
The new line, called P3, is expected to be complete in the second half of 2022, the company said.
P3 will manufacture 14-nanometre DRAM and 5-nanometre logic semiconductors using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, Samsung added.
“The entire semiconductor industry is facing a watershed moment and now is the time to chart out a plan for long-term strategy and investment,” said Samsung vice chairman and head of its chip business Kim Ki-nam.
“For the memory business, where Samsung has maintained its undisputed leadership position, the company will continue to make preemptive investments to lead the industry.”
While the South Korean tech giant didn’t address the current global chip shortage directly in its announcement, sources told ZDNet that the construction plan for P3 is six months ahead of schedule. Due to this, the tech giant will likely continue to be flexible in what chips its manufactures at its production lines in Pyeongtaek plant going forward, the sources said.
Samsung is the world’s largest memory chip maker by revenue. In foundry, it is the second largest, behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). In terms of total revenue, Samsung is the world’s second largest chip firm, behind Intel.
