What you need to know
- The global chip crisis is incentivizing companies such as Intel and Samsung to up their output.
- Samsung in particular, fresh off a financially successful quarter, has announced that it plans to triple its foundry capacity between now and 2026.
Samsung, fresh off its declaration of healthy third-quarter earnings, announced it plans to pump up foundry production capacity to triple what it is today. That plan is set to take place over the next half-decade, reaching fruition by 2026.
To achieve its goals, Samsung will expand current operations in South Korea and could also construct a new U.S.-based factory. As reported by Nikkei Asia, these plans come at a time when the company is in second place in the foundry game, with a global market share of 17% that's dwarfed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) 53%.
There are far more companies in the chipmaking arena than just Samsung and TSMC, however. Intel, a company Samsung spars with on semiconductor revenue charts, recently announced major plans to expand operations both domestically and abroad, recently making headlines for its vocal exclusion of the UK from its chip factory initiatives.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, chip shortages and associated supply headaches have been on many companies' minds across a bevy of sectors, ranging from automakers to phone manufacturers. Many governments have gotten involved as well, with efforts to combat the semiconductor crisis roping in the likes of South Korea and various EU nations, as well as heating up the chipmaking war between the U.S. and China.
Samsung's foundry efforts, much like every other company's, won't materialize overnight, hence the 2026 target deadline. This is par for the course and aligns with recent news such as how Intel's new Arizona-based chip factories only recently entered the construction phase after having been announced for months.
