Under the CHIPS & Science Act, the U.S. government has awarded tens of billions of dollars in grants and loans to the world’s leading chipmakers, such as Intel, Samsung and TSMC, which will significantly expand the country’s semiconductor industry in the coming years. However, most chips are typically tested, assembled and packaged in Asia, which has left the U.S. supply chain incomplete. To address this latest gap in the country’s chip production plans, in the past few weeks the U.S. government has signed memoranda of understanding worth about $1.5 billion with Amkor and SK Hynix to support their efforts to build chip packaging plants in the United States.
Amkor to Build Advanced Packaging Facility for Apple
Amkor plans to build a $2 billion advanced packaging facility near Peoria, Arizona, to test and assemble chips produced by TSMC at Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona. The company has signed an MOU that provides $400 million in direct financing and access to $200 million in loans under the CHIPS & Science Act. The company also plans to take advantage of a 25% tax credit for qualified capital expenditures.
The Amkor Peoria facility, which is to be strategically located near TSMC’s upcoming Fab 21 complex in Arizona, will occupy 55 acres and once fully completed will have more than 500,000 square feet (46,451 square meters) of cleanroom space, more than twice the size of Amkor’s advanced packaging facility in Vietnam. While the company did not disclose the exact capacity or specific technologies the facility will support, it is expected to serve a wide range of industries, including automotive, high-performance computing, and mobile technologies. This suggests that the new facility will offer a variety of packaging solutions, including traditional, 2.5D, and 3D technologies.
Amkor has worked extensively with Apple on the vision and initial setup of the Peoria facility, as Apple is expected to be the facility’s first and largest customer, a significant commitment from the tech giant. The partnership underscores the importance of the new facility in strengthening the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and positioning Amkor as a key partner for companies relying on TSMC’s manufacturing capabilities. The project is expected to generate about 2,000 jobs and is expected to begin operations in 2027.
SK Hynix to build HBM4 in US
SK Hynix this week also signed a preliminary agreement with the U.S. government to receive $450 million in direct funding and $500 million in loans to build an advanced memory packaging plant in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The proposed facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, meaning it will assemble either HBM4 or HBM4E memory. In the meantime, DRAM devices for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks will continue to be manufactured in South Korea. Nevertheless, packaging finished HBM4/HBM4E memories in the U.S. and eventually integrating those memory modules into high-end processors is a big deal.
In addition to building the packaging plant, SK hynix plans to work with Purdue University and other local research institutions to advance semiconductor technology and packaging innovation. The partnership aims to strengthen research and development in the region, positioning the plant as a center for AI technology and skilled employment.
Sources: Amkor, SK hynix
