Samsung has moved up the timeline for opening its first chip fab on the Yongin site to quickly ramp production and meet surging demand for AI-focused semiconductors. The Y1 facility is now slated to come online in 2029—two years earlier than originally planned.
An accelerated schedule for Yongin
To hit this ambitious target, Samsung must begin site preparations in the second half of this year, with construction set to start in early 2027. The schedule shift advances the planned start-up from 2031 to 2029, reflecting the company’s urgency to scale capacity amid rising demand for specialized logic and AI circuits.
Production capacity to reach 1 million wafers per month
Samsung’s current output stands at roughly 650,000 wafers per month. The commissioning of fab Y1 will raise that figure to about 1 million wafers monthly. Y1 is the first of six new fabs planned at Yongin and will be central to the site’s overall volume expansion.
Public backing and critical infrastructure
The project is receiving significant logistical support from South Korean authorities, who will provide essential infrastructure for the complex: a 3 GW LNG power plant and dedicated water supply pipelines are planned to serve the site. Those elements are viewed as indispensable for ensuring the energy and water reliability required by large-scale semiconductor manufacturing.
Main driver: meeting the AI boom
The decision to accelerate Yongin’s first fab is driven by strong demand for AI-dedicated chips. After a quarter of record profits, Samsung is moving to secure capacity and reinforce its position in the rapidly growing AI semiconductor market.
