Korea remains the undisputed center of memory production — and that's not changing.
The U.S. offers customer proximity, CHIPS Act capital, and tariff protection. Japan brings tooling depth, materials ecosystems, reliable power and water, plus generous subsidies. Both matter now that an AI fab is an infrastructure play, not just a cleanroom.
Samsung's Taylor foundry is set to come online by year-end. A second Texas site is under review. Tesla's next AI5 chip is targeted for 2 nm there. Washington committed up to $4.7 billion. $SKHY broke ground in Indiana for advanced packaging — HBM4E mass production targeted for Q3 2029. Wafers still ship from Korea.
Japan is the other anchor. Tokyo Electron and the materials stack sit next door. TSMC already produces $SKHY HBM4 base dies in Kumamoto. Micron is in Hiroshima. Tokyo approved up to ¥1.2 trillion (~$7.7 billion) for TSMC Kumamoto and up to ¥500 billion for Micron. Chairman Chey Tae-won called a Kioxia tie-up, possibly a shared plant, a "very attractive candidate."
Domestic investment hasn't slowed. $SKHY approved KRW 54.3 trillion (~$39 billion) for Yongin and Cheongju. Samsung is still planning Gwangju.
Lutnick's message is clear: build in the U.S. or pay to sell into it.
The U.S. offers customer proximity, CHIPS Act capital, and tariff protection. Japan brings tooling depth, materials ecosystems, reliable power and water, plus generous subsidies. Both matter now that an AI fab is an infrastructure play, not just a cleanroom.
Samsung's Taylor foundry is set to come online by year-end. A second Texas site is under review. Tesla's next AI5 chip is targeted for 2 nm there. Washington committed up to $4.7 billion. $SKHY broke ground in Indiana for advanced packaging — HBM4E mass production targeted for Q3 2029. Wafers still ship from Korea.
Japan is the other anchor. Tokyo Electron and the materials stack sit next door. TSMC already produces $SKHY HBM4 base dies in Kumamoto. Micron is in Hiroshima. Tokyo approved up to ¥1.2 trillion (~$7.7 billion) for TSMC Kumamoto and up to ¥500 billion for Micron. Chairman Chey Tae-won called a Kioxia tie-up, possibly a shared plant, a "very attractive candidate."
Domestic investment hasn't slowed. $SKHY approved KRW 54.3 trillion (~$39 billion) for Yongin and Cheongju. Samsung is still planning Gwangju.
Lutnick's message is clear: build in the U.S. or pay to sell into it.