A visit to Samsung’s massive new semiconductor hub
Generative AI models run on powerful chips known as GPUs, which depend on stacks of specialized memory chips packaged with the processor.
Generative AI models run on powerful chips known as GPUs, which depend on stacks of specialized memory chips packaged with the processor.
The short version
- To meet growing demand for memory, Samsung is building a massive new semiconductor manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
- Three fabs already operate around the clock, and a fourth is coming online.
- At the world’s biggest chipmaking complex, Samsung is building the fabs it needs for the AI memory boom.
What happened
Construction of a fifth was halted during a drop in demand for memory chips in 2024 but restarted when the AI boom sent demand soaring. It’s just before noon on a Monday, and construction workers are pouring out of Samsung’s fabs in Pyeongtaek, a farming city south of Seoul where rice paddies abut a sprawling chipmaking complex.
Why it matters
Thousands of workers, dressed head to toe in black with sky-blue vests, take off helmets bearing their names and fab numbers.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at MIT Technology Review — AI via the links above and below.