Samsung is considering funding an Austin, Texas-based chip manufacturing facility with "over $ 10 billion," according to a Bloomberg report.
Great news for the crypto mining industry
Some sources told Bloomberg that the tech company expects its facility to be capable of producing 3-nanometer chips in the future. The exact amount of the expense may vary, but Samsung is vying to bring back some of the chip-making market share currently controlled by Asian markets to the US.
“This is the news that the bitcoin mining industry has been looking forward to; a US-based chip industry will drastically change the dynamics of power between East and West, ”said Nick Hansen, CEO of Seattle-based mining company Luxor Technology.
In the future, this could also have positive effects on the tensions that have plagued the supply chain of bitcoin mining machine manufacturers who routinely struggle to get a constant and sufficient amount of chips from industries.
“Currently, access to a substantial supply of mining equipment is a huge bottleneck for industry growth. This will eradicate a long-standing duopoly in China that has far-reaching implications, ”Hansen said.
But bitcoin miners face incredibly stiff competition for these chips from tech giants including Apple (Apple shares - ticker AAPL) and Nvidia, making them a much lower priority customer for most foundries.
Between a rise in the price of bitcoin and interest in mining, the demand for new ASICs for mining and existing production constraints led to leading manufacturers such as Bitmain to sell ASICs for mining almost until the end of 2021.
Samsung intends to beat the competition on chips
Bloomberg reported that Samsung plans to invest $ 116 billion in its chip manufacturing and design businesses over the next decade in a strong bid to overtake leading manufacturer TSMC.
Samsung may need some time to negotiate potential incentives with US President Joe Biden's administration. The company has already hired staff in Washington DC to lobby for approval of the deal and is ready to move forward with the new administration in place, people said.
Tax benefits and subsidies would certainly ease Samsung's financial burden, but the company could go ahead even without big incentives, a spokesperson said. Samsung is a multinational electronics company headquartered in South Korea. The company is listed on the South Korean Stock Exchange (KRX) and has a capitalization of $ 197,7 billion (2019). As of press time, Samsung stock is priced at $ 1.962.
