Micron Technology said on Jan. 27 it will move forward with a $24 billion investment to build a new memory wafer fabrication facility in Singapore, part of a push to expand output amid what the company described as an acute global shortage of memory chips.
The company said the project will create an advanced wafer fab over the next decade to bolster its supply of NAND memory chips, which it said are in rising demand due to the growth of artificial intelligence and data-centric applications.
Micron provided a timeline for production: wafer output is expected to begin in the second half of 2028. The production area will include cleanroom space measuring about 700,000 square feet (65,000 sq m), the company added.
Singapore is already central to Micron's flash memory production - the company currently makes 98% of its flash memory chips there - and the new fab comes alongside a separate, $7 billion project to build an advanced packaging plant for high bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is used in AI chips.
Micron said the HBM packaging facility is on track to start contributing supply in 2027. The company framed both investments as responses to growing market demand tied to AI and other data-intensive workloads.
Analysts cited by the company have signalled that the memory supply shortfall could persist through late 2027. At the same time, Micron and its main competitors - South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix - have announced plans to add new production lines and in some cases are bringing forward start dates for new capacity.
Recent related moves include Micron's disclosure that it is in talks to buy a fabrication site from Powerchip in Taiwan for $1.8 billion, a deal the company said would support an increase in DRAM wafer output. Separately, SK Hynix informed Reuters this month that it plans to accelerate the opening of a new factory by three months and is preparing to begin operating another new plant in February.
The combined actions illustrate an industry-wide effort to accelerate capacity additions for both NAND and DRAM, with Micron emphasising a long-term build in Singapore while pursuing near-term steps elsewhere to alleviate shortages.
Context and implications
- Micron's $24 billion wafer fab is targeted at NAND memory production and is planned to come online in the second half of 2028 in a large cleanroom facility.
- The company already concentrates nearly all of its flash memory output in Singapore and is simultaneously building a $7 billion HBM packaging plant expected to supply the market in 2027.
- Industry competitors are also accelerating capacity starts, and Micron has pursued additional capacity through talks to acquire an existing Taiwan fab for $1.8 billion.