Samsung Electronics’ Texas facility for a 2-nanometer process begins trial operations! Taking on TSMC’s U.S. plant head-on

Samsung Electronics’ 2nm wafer fab in Taylor, Texas—built with $17 billion—is now officially in the test operation phase. EUV lithography equipment has begun testing, with the goal of risk production in 2026 and full-scale mass production in 2027, reaching up to 50,000 wafers per month.
(Backgrounder: TSMC ships its first wafers from the Arizona plant! NVIDIA AI chips need to return to their “Taiwan hometown” for packaging)
(Additional context: TSMC’s 2nm chips are too expensive! There are reports that Apple iPhone 17 Pro will continue using 3nm, and will NVIDIA and Qualcomm consider shifting orders?)

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• A factory complex even larger than Samsung’s in Korea
• Data: GAA architecture + 60% yield
• Taking on TSMC’s big AI chip order pie

With $17 billion, 4.85 million square meters, and more than 7,000 people entering and leaving the construction site every day, Samsung Electronics’ wafer fab in Taylor, Texas is finally at the moment when it can truly power on.

According to consolidated reports from multiple tech media outlets such as Tom’s Hardware and TrendForce, the Taylor plant has entered the test operation phase. Formal testing of EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography equipment has started, and major tools such as etching and deposition are also being brought online in stages.

A factory complex even larger than Samsung’s in Korea

The scale of Samsung’s Texas plant is truly astonishing. Its factory area of 4.85 million square meters exceeds the total of Samsung’s Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea (2.89 million square meters) and its Hwaseong plant (1.57 million square meters).

Currently, the office area within the Texas complex already has 1,000 people stationed and working. At the construction site, the number of people entering and leaving each day reaches 7,000. Samsung has dispatched large batches of “ace-level” engineers to take charge on-site, signaling a serious attitude toward advanced process technology.

Originally, this facility was planned for a 4nm process. Later, the entire project was transformed into a 2nm production hub. This past February, part of the factory’s zoned areas (about 8,175 square meters) already obtained a temporary occupancy permit (TCO), meaning that equipment installation and basic testing can officially begin.

Data: GAA architecture + 60% yield

On the technical side, Samsung’s Texas plant uses the SF2 process based on the GAA (Gate-All-Around, gate-all-around) architecture—this is also the core technology roadmap Samsung is betting on for the 2nm generation.

At present, the yield is around 60%. Some reports indicate that an improved SF2P process version can reach 70%. For a wafer fab that has just entered test operation, this figure is still a reasonable starting point; in subsequent mass-production ramp-up, yields typically rise gradually.

The monthly capacity target is set at 50,000 wafers per month (WSPM). In terms of schedule planning, risk production is set for 2026, aiming to reach full-scale mass production in 2027.

In addition, Samsung adds EUV reticle pellicle protection film technology into its process. This is a key accessory for improving the stability of EUV exposure and an important part of achieving mass-production yield for advanced processes.

Taking on TSMC’s big AI chip order pie

The timing for the Taylor plant’s test-operation launch lines up exactly with the stretch that TSMC’s Arizona plant is in for 2nm mass production. Both wafer fabrication giants are targeting 2026 to 2027, and the battlefield is orders from major AI chip customers such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Tesla.

For Samsung to achieve strong real-world performance with the Taylor plant—yield data, process stability, and dependable delivery timelines—its case must convince these customers that it can take on large-scale AI chip contract manufacturing.

By comparison, construction for the production lines at Samsung’s local P4 plant in Pyeongtaek has reportedly slowed noticeably, with resources being prioritized toward advanced capacity development in the United States. This factory also benefits from subsidy support under the U.S. CHIPS Act. Samsung now needs to use U.S. chip demand to win back a bigger share of the pie.