Micron Technology has finalized its $1.8 billion acquisition of Powerchip's DRAM fabrication facility in Taiwan and announced plans to build a second fab of similar scale, with construction set to begin by the end of fiscal year 2026.
U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology (MU.O) has completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of Powerchip Technology's DRAM fabrication facility in Taiwan, marking a significant expansion of the company's manufacturing footprint in the critical semiconductor hub. The acquisition, which was first announced in 2024, gives Micron control of a mature 300mm DRAM fab located in Taichung, Taiwan.
According to Reuters, Micron plans to build a second manufacturing facility in Taiwan of similar scale, with construction slated to begin by the end of fiscal year 2026. This expansion comes as the global semiconductor industry faces ongoing supply constraints and surging demand for memory chips, particularly driven by artificial intelligence applications.
The Powerchip fab acquisition represents Micron's strategic move to increase its DRAM production capacity in Asia, where it already operates facilities in Singapore and Japan. The Taichung facility, which has been producing DRAM since 2003, will be integrated into Micron's global manufacturing network and is expected to help meet growing demand for memory solutions in data centers, AI systems, and consumer electronics.
Industry analysts note that Micron's expansion in Taiwan comes at a time when the company is competing with rivals like Samsung and SK Hynix for market share in the high-performance memory segment. The AI boom has created unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced DRAM technologies, making capacity expansion a top priority for memory manufacturers.
Micron's move also reflects the broader trend of U.S. semiconductor companies maintaining and expanding their presence in Taiwan, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region. Taiwan remains the world's leading producer of advanced semiconductors, with companies like TSMC dominating the logic chip market while DRAM production is more distributed among multiple players.
The timing of Micron's expansion plans coincides with reports of other major tech companies investing heavily in AI infrastructure. At Nvidia's upcoming GTC conference, the company is expected to unveil new agentic-optimized CPUs and other hardware designed to support the growing AI ecosystem that drives demand for advanced memory solutions.
For Micron, the Powerchip acquisition and planned second fab represent a multi-billion dollar commitment to meeting projected demand growth over the next several years. The company has not disclosed specific capacity targets for the new facility, but industry sources suggest it could add hundreds of thousands of wafer starts per month to Micron's global production capacity once fully operational.
The completed acquisition and expansion plans underscore Micron's position as one of the three major DRAM manufacturers globally, alongside Samsung and SK Hynix. As AI applications continue to evolve and require more sophisticated memory architectures, Micron's manufacturing footprint in Taiwan positions the company to capitalize on the ongoing semiconductor industry transformation.
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