South Korean conglomerate Samsung unveiled on Sunday a plan to invest $310 billion over the next five years mostly in technology powering artificial intelligence, aiming to meet growing demand driven by a global boom.
The business group鈥檚 flagship Samsung Electronics is already one of the world鈥檚 top memory-chip makers, providing crucial components for the AI industry and the infrastructure it relies on.
South Korea is also home to SK hynix, another key player in the global semiconductor market.
The five-year investment package includes plans to build a new semiconductor facility, Pyeongtaek Plant 5, designed 鈥榯o meet the needs of memory-chip demands鈥�, Samsung said in a statement.
Once in full operation, 鈥渢he Pyeongtaek plant is expected to play an even greater strategic role in both the global semiconductor supply chain and South Korea鈥檚 domestic chip ecosystem,鈥� it said.
The new line is scheduled to begin operations in 2028.
Samsung SDS, the group鈥檚 IT and logistics arm, will establish two AI data centres in South Jeolla and Gumi, the company said, without providing further details.
Samsung Group is a network of affiliated companies with complex cross-shareholdings under the Samsung brand, rather than a single legal holding company.
It is South Korea鈥檚 largest chaebol, the family-run conglomerates that dominate the country鈥檚 economy.
The $310-billion plan also includes some projects unrelated to AI.
Under the investment package, the company said that Samsung SDI, its electric-vehicle battery affiliate, was exploring the creation of a domestic production line 鈥榝or next-generation batteries, including all-solid-state batteries鈥�.
The AI boom has delivered a major tailwind for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, whose high-performance memory chips have become indispensable for AI computing.
Samsung Electronics has reported that its profit increased more than 30 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by AI-fuelled demand.
AI-related spending is soaring worldwide and sky-high tech share valuations have fed concerns of an AI market bubble that could eventually burst, like the dot-com boom that imploded at the turn of the millennium.
The investment package announced on Sunday comes after the South Korean government had pledged to triple spending on artificial intelligence next year.
President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to 鈥榰sher in the AI era鈥� and make the country one of the world鈥檚 top three AI powers, behind the United States and China.
Photo caption: A Samsung flag flutters outside the company鈥檚 Seocho building in Seoul on October 8, 2024 APF
