Home Business Semiconductors and Electronics TSMC, Samsung plan new semicon...

TSMC, Samsung plan new semiconductor factories in UAE

Semiconductors and Electronics

Business Honor
23 September, 2024

TSMC and Samsung discuss building semiconductor plants in the UAE to meet AI demand.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. are in talks to build large semiconductor plants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as demand for artificial intelligence computing picks up, according to the Wall Street Journal. Top executives of TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker, recently visited the UAE to consider having a plant complex rivaling its advanced manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. Samsung, based in South Korea, has also expressed interest in establishing substantial operations in the Middle Eastern country.

Discussions are in the nascent stage, and there are huge technical and logistical issues to be solved. The projects under discussion would cost more than $100 billion to complete, sources privy to the matter say, but in case it works, the country can emerge as a major player in the global semiconductor industry especially in the arena of artificial intelligence technology.

The UAE has, for long been keen on developing an economy free from the influence of petrochemicals. More precisely, the emirate is developing a semiconductor manufacturing hub. Over the last ten years, Gulf states have set their eyes on the semiconductor industry as an avenue for growth. Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based investment arm which owns GlobalFoundries Inc, has led in the charge though with little progress since challenges on developing the large-scale infrastructure necessary for mass semiconductor production remain pertinent.

Another reason for the UAE's push into AI is part of its semiconductor strategy. A government-backed firm, G42, is at the center of this effort. G42 has attracted large sums of money, including $1.5 billion from Microsoft, and is now working with big tech firms such as Nvidia and OpenAI. The semiconductor ambitions of the UAE are part of a broader plan to become a regional hub for AI development, focusing on building the infrastructure necessary to support the rapid evolution of the industry.