Samsung’s Texas fab fully booked for 2nm ahead of trial run

Samsung Electronics' foundry facility in Taylor, Texas, has reached full booking for its 2nm chip manufacturing capacity before trial production has even begun, according to multiple reports citing South Korea's Munhwa Ilbo. The development marks a turning point for Samsung's foundry division, which has struggled with low utilization and losses in recent years.

Trial operations at the Taylor fab are expected to start as early as late September or early October, with mass production slated for 2027, according to TrendForce. The facility's initial production capacity is set at 50,000 wafer starts per month, putting it within striking distance of TSMC's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited ↗ 2.35% roughly 80,000-wafer monthly output at comparable nodes.moomoo+2

Key Customers and Order Momentum

Orders driving the full booking include Tesla's ↗ 3.98% AI5 chip, Broadcom's ↗ 2.98% next-generation communication semiconductors, and Arm's ↗ 3.74% artificial intelligence chips. Samsung's 2nm yield rate has improved from roughly 60% at the start of 2026 to around 80% recently, a milestone that appears to have helped convert customer interest into firm commitments.gate+2

During its second-quarter earnings call in July, Samsung said it expected the number of 2nm projects secured in 2026 to more than double year over year. The company also disclosed it had landed 2nm orders from a major cloud service provider and high-performance computing customers. Samsung and Broadcom earlier signed a $200 billion memorandum of understanding covering collaboration on memory and foundry over five years.wccftech

Broader Foundry Recovery

The Taylor orders arrive as Samsung's foundry business shows broader signs of recovery. Utilization rates exceeded 80% in the first quarter of 2026, the highest level in over a year, and the company's 4nm production capacity is fully booked through 2027, according to ZDNet Korea. DigiTimes reported in June that the foundry division could return to profitability as early as the third quarter of 2026.sammobile+2

Preparations for Phase II of the Taylor plant are also advancing, with construction planned to begin at the end of this year and mass production targeted for 2030. Samsung has asked major equipment partners to obtain safety certifications in advance for the second facility.moomoo

The 2nm race extends beyond Samsung. Intel ↗ 9.05% has increased investment in its own 2nm node, while Rapidus, a consortium backed by SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota, completed a new wafer foundry in Hokkaido last month and has entered its own 2nm trial production phase.moomoo