Samsung Restarts 5th Pyeongtaek Fab as AI Boom Drives Memory Demand Through 2028

3 articles · Updated · MIT Technology Review · Oct 20

Samsung has restarted construction on a fifth semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, while a fourth plant is coming online at the sprawling South Korea complex.
The expansion follows a 2024 halt triggered by weak memory demand, with generative AI now lifting need for high-bandwidth memory used alongside GPUs.
Three fabs already run around the clock, and Samsung says memory demand will keep rising through 2028 as it tries to regain ground lost to SK Hynix in AI memory.
At the site, thousands of construction workers are building out a campus roughly the size of Central Park, underscoring how the AI chip race is reshaping local jobs and housing demand.

Sources

Can Samsung's radical multi-story mega-fab truly dethrone SK Hynix in the fierce race for AI memory dominance by 2027?

What happens if the projected AI boom cools down before Samsung's massive semiconductor expansion is completed in 2028?

Will severe land and water limits ultimately choke the ambitious vertical expansion of global semiconductor hubs?