U.S. memory chipmaker Micron is expected to start running a new plant under construction in Boise, Idaho, from mid next year.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 17th (local time), Micron is building two fabs with a $50 billion investment, and the first fab will begin DRAM production in mid next year. The entire line, including the second fab, is slated to reach full operation by the end of 2028.
The two fabs each measure 600,000 square feet (about 56,000 square meters), the size of 10 soccer fields. It is a mega-project requiring 70,000 tons of steel and 300,000 cubic yards (230,000 cubic meters) of concrete, and is expected to become one of the largest clean rooms in the United States.
The investment is part of a $200 billion (about 290 trillion won) project to significantly expand U.S. production bases. Micron also broke ground on a $100 billion semiconductor complex in Syracuse, New York, and announced a $9.6 billion investment in Hiroshima, Japan.
The expansion stems from a supply shortfall as demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) has surged amid the AI boom. Chief Financial Officer Mark Murphy said, "We can supply only about half to two-thirds of some key customers' volumes," adding, "There is no easy and fast way." Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana also said they recognized the surge in HBM demand around Aug.–Oct. last year, adding, "Memory has turned into a strategic asset."
Reseller Circular Technologies said prices for DDR5 for AI servers have jumped about 500% since September last year, and forecast that the shortage could continue at least from the end of this year through the first half of next year.