Micron Technology, a leading memory chip manufacturer, plans to invest $100 billion over the next 20 years to build four new chip fabrication plants in the United States. The move comes as the company faces a ban on some of its sales to China and looks to reduce its reliance on the country.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company aims to bring advanced memory production to the U.S. starting in 2026 with a new $15 billion chip fabrication plant in Boise, Idaho. The company also plans to build four new 600,000-square-foot fabs in upstate New York. Micron’s goal is to vastly increase the U.S. share of DRAM production, which currently sits at just 2%. The company’s investments in the U.S. will help to increase that share to about 15% of the worldwide production within the next 20 years.
The U.S. share of overall chip manufacturing has plummeted from 37% to 12% in the last three decades, largely because it costs at least 20% more to build and operate a new fab in the U.S. than in Asia. In Asia, labor is also cheaper, the supply chain is more accessible, and government incentives have been far greater. That’s why the CHIPS and Science Act set aside $52.7 billion for companies that manufacture in the U.S. Micron is one of at least 460 companies that have applied for funds from the CHIPS Act. The company is also eligible for up to $5.5 billion from the state of New York for the four fabs it’s building just north of Syracuse.
Micron’s investment in the U.S. comes when the company is facing a ban on some of its sales to China. In May, China’s cybersecurity administration banned some of Micron’s sales to key China infrastructure projects, saying that it failed a security review. Last year, the U.S. barred chip companies from supplying China with key technologies. Micron is committed to bringing the value of its technology and products to China but is also trying to diversify its base. Micron has already started constructing a $2.75 billion assembly and test facility in India.
China can still rely on chips from Samsung, SK Hynix, and smaller Chinese memory makers. However, analysts say that China may be forced to rely on Micron again if demand for memory chips outstrips supply.
