Samsung to spend $228 billion on the world’s largest chip facility as part of South Korea tech plan
Samsung said it will make a 300 trillion Korean won investment in a new semiconductor facility in South Korea over the next two decades. It is part of a broader tech investment plan by the South Korean government.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it plans to invest 300 trillion Korean won ($228 billion) in a new semiconductor complex in South Korea, which the government says will be the world’s largest, as part of an aggressive push by the country to take a lead in critical technologies.
The investment will happen over the years to 2042, a Samsung spokesperson told CNBC.
The South Korean government is looking to join together its biggest technology companies to spur development in key areas. The government said Wednesday that 550 trillion won will be invested by the private sector by 2026 in areas including chips, displays, batteries and electric vehicles.
But the big focus is on semiconductors — critical components that go into everything from smartphones to cars — and that have increasingly become a geopolitical focal point. South Korea’s expansive move is seen as a way to catch up with the U.S.’s own aggressive chip investments.
“President Yoon Suk-yeol said, while it’s important for a high-tech industry such as semiconductors to grow through a mid-to-longer term plan, we must swiftly push ahead with these plans as if it’s a matter of life and death, given the current situation of global competition,” Yoon’s spokesperson Lee Do-woon said in a briefing.
The new 300 trillion won chip complex Samsung is building will be just outside of the South Korean capital of Seoul.
South Korea’s government aims to connect chip facilities in the area from Samsung to other companies to create a “semiconductor mega cluster.” The idea is to link up various parts of the semiconductor supply chain from chip design to manufacturing.
“In selecting the new locations, we’ve taken into consideration the synergy effect that could be seen from existing semiconductor clusters,” Lee Chang-yang, South Korea’s trade, industry and energy minister, said.
The South Korean government said that companies will build five chip manufacturing facilities in the cluster.
Samsung is the world’s biggest memory chip maker. These are semiconductors that go into devices such as laptops and servers. South Korea is also home to SK Hynix, the second-biggest memory chip maker.
Semiconductor rivalries heat up
Semiconductors have become a highly politicized technology and have created a complex dynamic between allied countries, driven by the U.S.’s twofold strategy.
On the one hand, Washington has pushed to bring chip manufacturing back to U.S. shores and has got commitments from companies including Samsung and Taiwan’s TSMC, the biggest contract chipmaker, to build factories.
On the other hand, the U.S. has sought to hold back China’s semiconductor development. Last year, Washington introduced sweeping rules aimed at cutting China off from obtaining or manufacturing key chips and components and the tools required to make them.
In its tech battle with China, the U.S. has looked to strike alliances with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Netherlands to help cut China off from key technology.
But at the same time, the U.S. signed the Chips and Science Act which includes $52 billion in support for companies producing chips in a bid to attract investment into America and boost the country’s standing in the semiconductor industry.
That has created a competitive landscape between allied nations even as they seek partnerships.
“As of now, every country is trying to build its own competitive strengths. There is a flood of tax breaks and capital commitments from governments seeking to onshore semiconductor production,” Pranay Kotasthane, chairperson of the high tech geopolitics program at the Takshashila Institution, told CNBC.
“The impulse for competition is stronger than the impulse for cooperation. Incentives might change if the planned incentives don’t work or when the semiconductor industry sees a downward trend in the investment cycle.“
Samsung manufacturing push
For Samsung, the government’s support could help it catch up with TSMC — the biggest contract chipmaker. TSMC manufactures some of the most advanced semiconductors in the world for companies such as Apple.
Samsung, known for consumer electronics and memory chips, is looking to ramp up its contract chipmaking, or foundry business.
In October, the company laid out an ambitious roadmap to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world by 2027.
Samsung shares closed 1.3% higher in South Korea on Wednesday after the announcement of its chip investment plans.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 9, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a years-long intellectual property dispute over the capability.
Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible because of a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said.
In 2023, the International Trade Commission found that Apple’s blood oxygen sensors infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company. Apple paused the sale of some of its watches and began selling modified versions of the wearables without the blood oxygen feature.
“Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core,” the company said in a release announcing the feature rollout.
Ether and bitcoin.
Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images
Bitcoin hit a new record late Wednesday as ether climbed even closer to its all-time high.
The flagship cryptocurrency rose as high as $124,496, surpassing its July record of 123,193.63, according to Coin Metrics. Ether rose to $4,791.19 overnight, edging closer to its 2021 record of $4,866.01.
Both coins took a hit Thursday, however, after July’s wholesale inflation data came in much hotter than expected. Bitcoin was lower by 3% at $118,481.00 while ether fell 2% to $4,629.20.
Bitcoin hit a new record overnight, surpassing its July all-time high
The initial gains were sparked by Tuesday’s cooler-than-expected July inflation report, which had lifted investor optimism for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve at the end of its September policy meeting. The coins rallied with the stock market for two days. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scaled new records.
For the week, bitcoin is on pace for a nearly 2% gain, while ether has rallied more than 14%. Ether flipped bitcoin as the crypto market leader in June, gaining 85% since then thanks to heavy institutional buying, tightening supply and adoption from corporate accumulators – all under the backdrop of a friendlier regulatory environment for the crypto industry. Jake Kennis, analyst at Nansen, said the rally likely has more room to run given the flows remain strong.
“Bitcoin hitting a fresh all time high and ETH being on the verge of doing so means we’ve moved from speculative mania to a phase where institutional adoption, real-world integration, and global liquidity are driving price discovery,” said Ben Kurland, CEO at crypto research and trading platform DYOR.
“The fact that both assets are on the verge of breaking records in tandem signals broad market conviction, not just a single-asset rally,” he added. “Momentum this strong rarely burns out instantly, but it also tends to draw in latecomers who can fuel volatility. Right now the story is less about euphoria and more about validation. Crypto is graduating from ‘alternative’ to ‘essential’ in the global portfolio mix.”
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