The U.S. 2nm foundry race heats up! Pushed by Tesla executives’ on-site efforts, Samsung’s previously suspended 2nm production line at its Taylor, Texas (U.S.) plant has officially restarted. Industry sources say Samsung is now fully sprinting toward mass production by 2026—adding a new variable to the global advanced process competition landscape.
Per South Korean media reports, Samsung has clarified its plan: starting in September, it will deploy engineers to the Taylor plant in two phases (one batch each in September and November), while launching equipment procurement for the foundry production line and finalizing the appointment of the Taylor plant’s new leader—speeding up construction across the board.
Looking back at the project’s journey: Samsung first planned to build chip capacity at the Taylor plant in 2021, initially targeting 4nm process. However, the project was put on hold in September last year due to "lack of core foundry customers." A turning point came in late July this year: Samsung signed a $16.5 billion long-term chip supply contract (running until 2033) with a well-known global enterprise. Tesla CEO Elon Musk later personally confirmed the cooperation—injecting key momentum into the 2nm production line.
In terms of capacity and investment: Samsung’s 2nm production line at the Taylor plant plans to invest approximately $2.89 billion, with a target to reach monthly capacity of 16,000-17,000 12-inch wafers by the end of 2026. If progress goes smoothly, mass production will officially start between late 2026 and early 2027. Notably, the production line adopts advanced GAA transistor architecture, focusing on automotive-grade chip demand and deeply tied to Tesla’s next-generation AI chip (reportedly codenamed AI6). Equipment procurement has entered the preparation stage, with leading manufacturers like Applied Materials and ASML coordinating to prepare key equipment.
This move also intensifies U.S. 2nm competition: TSMC has long-term plans to introduce 2nm and more advanced processes at its new U.S. plants, while Intel also receives resource support to advance advanced nodes. The three giants will compete directly in North America.
The restart of Samsung’s U.S. 2nm production line marks the shift of global advanced process competition focus to North America. ICgoodFind will continue to track mass production progress and deliver key industry updates.
ICgoodFind： Samsung’s U.S. 2nm revival—fueled by Tesla—signals a bigger North American advanced process showdown. We’ll monitor how this shapes the global foundry landscape and share timely insights.
