AUSTIN, Texas – Tech giant Samsung has chosen Taylor in Williamson County as the location of a planned $17 billion chip-making plant, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday.
The new manufacturing facility will produce advanced logic chips that will power next-generation devices for applications such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI), according to a news release from the governor’s office.
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The project will create over 2,000 high-tech jobs, thousands of indirect jobs, and a minimum of 6,500 construction jobs. Construction will begin in early 2022 with a target of production start in the second half of 2024. The $17 billion in capital investments includes buildings, property improvements, machinery, and equipment.
“Companies like Samsung continue to invest in Texas because of our world-class business climate and exceptional workforce,” Abbott said. “Samsung’s new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor will bring countless opportunities for hardworking Central Texans and their families and will play a major role in our state’s continued exceptionalism in the semiconductor industry. I look forward to expanding our partnership to keep the Lone Star State a leader in advanced technology and a dynamic economic powerhouse.”
Dr. Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics Device Solutions Division, joined Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas for the announcement at the governor’s mansion in Austin.
“As we add a new facility in Taylor, Samsung is laying the groundwork for another important chapter in our future,” Kim said. “With greater manufacturing capacity, we will be able to better serve the needs of our customers and contribute to the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain. We are also proud to be bringing more jobs and supporting the training and talent development for local communities, as Samsung celebrates 25 years of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.”
Williamson County, which was originally considered a longshot for the new factory, reportedly won Samsung over due to local governmental officials offering significant tax breaks, according to the Austin American Statesman.
Endpoint Technologies analyst Roger Kay told the Statesman that Taylor’s proximity to Austin also likely helped sweeten the deal because Samsung can pull from the existing talent pool in the state capitol.
Kevin O’Hanlon, an attorney hired as a consultant for Taylor Independent School District, told KXAN last week that the district also offered an incentive to Samsung.
The agreement could save Samsung nearly $250 million in taxes over the course of 15 years, while the district would reap an estimated $46 million in benefits paid by Samsung.
“It’s a significant incremental improvement to the educational resources that will be available to the kids in the district,” O’Hanlon told KXAN.
The proposed site for the new Samsung factory is approximately 1,200 acres.
Samsung isn’t the only company to be moving to Texas. Taylor is located just northeast of Austin, where Tesla recently announced it will be moving its headquarters.