President Joe Biden has touted a deal with Samsung to build new semiconductor chip plants in Texas.
The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding to the South Korean tech giant to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster.
The funding comes from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law with the aim of boosting domestic production of advanced computer chips.
In a statement on Monday, Biden said he had signed the law "to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and ensure America's consumers, businesses, and military maintain access to the chips that underpin our modern technology," but had been working to address supply chain vulnerabilities well before it was passed.
"Now, nearly two years later, I'm pleased to announce a preliminary agreement between Samsung and the Department of Commerce to bring Samsung's advanced semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to Texas."
Biden said the agreement "will unleash over $40 billion in investment from Samsung, and cement central Texas's role as a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem, creating at least 21,500 jobs and leveraging up to $40 million in CHIPS funding to train and develop the local workforce."
The White House has been contacted for comment via email.
Samsung's cluster will include two factories in Taylor, Texas, that will make four- and two-nanometer chips. The first would begin production in 2026 and the second starting in 2027.
There will also be a facility dedicated to research and development and another for the packaging that surrounds chip components. The funding will also expand Samsung's existing semiconductor facility in Austin.
"The proposed project will propel Texas into a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters.
"It puts us on track to hit our goal of producing 20 percent of the world's leading edge chips in the United States by the end of the decade."
The CHIPS Act set aside roughly $53 billion for government subsidies to companies that produce semiconductors.
Last month, Biden celebrated an agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans for computer chip plants around the country.
"Even though we invented the most advanced chips, we make zero percent of them today," Biden said during a visit to Chandler, Arizona. "Nearly all manufacturing of leading-edge chips across the entire industry moved overseas to Asia years ago."
He added: "This isn't just about investing in America. It's about investing in the American people as well."
Update 4/15/24, 7:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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