Samsung’s Taylor Fab Approved for Limited Operations

Samsung has not yet begun full operations at its new semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas. However, the company needs to use parts of the facility to start preparing for chip production. It has now received temporary approval from the authorities to proceed, allowing limited operations while construction continues.

Samsung secures TCO for Taylor fab, prepares for advanced chip production

According to a report from Korea JoongAng Daily, Samsung has secured temporary certificates of occupancy (TCO) for its Taylor fab. It covers about 88,000 square feet of its first fabrication building (Fab 1). “Larger areas are anticipated to follow; however, the timing for those spaces has not yet been established,” said a Taylor city official.

The report also says Samsung may begin testing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools at the plant as early as next month. This is a big step before a full production ramp-up of the 2nm process in the second half of the year. The fab’s construction is also progressing at a large scale, with around 7,000 workers on-site daily. As part of the agreement with local authorities, the company needs to complete 6 million square feet of floorspace by 2026 and another 1 million square feet in 2028.

The company has recently signed contracts with Device, a Korean semiconductor equipment and services provider. The contract (worth about $7.4 million) covers the supply of semiconductor cleaning equipment to Samsung’s US subsidiary. The supplier must deliver the equipment by October 26, likely for use at the Taylor fab.

Samsung reportedly plans to make Tesla’s AI5 chips at the Taylor fab, with pilot production beginning sometime this month and mass production in 2027. The facility will also make next-generation AI6 chips in the future. While Tesla is the first client for the plant, the company is also seeking more US customers, including Google and AMD.

Increasing prices from rival TSMC, along with Taiwan’s restrictions (N-2 policy) on its most advanced 2nm node, have made the Korean firm an attractive alternative for American technology firms looking for cutting-edge chips domestically. If successful, Samsung’s foundry division could become profitable this year after several years of losses.