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How Micron is building the biggest chip fab in U.S. history despite a China ban and smartphone slump

  • by Ema Timahe

Memory chips are at the center of all devices, helping store and access data in smartphones, computers and the servers training generative artificial intelligence models. Just three companies make more than 90% of the world’s dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips. With Samsung and SK Hynix both headquartered in South Korea, Idaho-based Micron is the only manufacturer in the U.S. — that has made it the latest target of China’s bans on U.S. technologies. About a quarter of Micron’s revenue comes from China, and “about half that revenue is at risk,” Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told CNBC in an interview. Meanwhile, Micron is doubling down on U.S. manufacturing. Its current leading-edge chips are made in Japan and Taiwan, but Micron is aiming to bring advanced memory production to the U.S. starting in 2026 with a new $15 billion chip fabrication plant in Boise, Idaho. Micron celebrated its 45th anniversary in October by pouring the first cement at the new fab. The facility is located next to Micron’s huge research and development facility

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