Samsung takes step forward in $3.9B chip effort in Texas
Officials in the Lone Star state have given Samsung the green light to expand chip production lines at an investment cost of $3.9 billion.
Back in August, we heard that Samsung wanted to go forward with a substantial investment in a Texas plant to boost chip production. Now U.S. officials have given their approval.
Samsung Electronics plans to turn the Austin chipmaking plant into a more profitable venture through the $3.9 billion investment, aiming for a renovation to try to cope with the increasing demand for mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. Now talks have been completed with Texas officials, production line expansion and renovation has been given permission to go ahead, according to Reuters.
Supply chain issues have the potential to affect any new product launch for a tech company, and by improving its core production facilities, the company can better protect itself against problems with supply and demand in the future. The latest investment in the Texas plant brings Samsung's total investment to over $13 billion since the plant went into operation in 1996.
Despite its continuing legal issues with competitor Apple, Samsung supplies memory chips to the iPad and iPhone maker, as well as manufacturing components for its own products, including Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
This latest investment joins an $1.98 billion investment for the construction of a new chip-making facility in South Korea earlier this year.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Samsung pushes ahead with $3.9 billion chip production investment."