Locator: 49576JAPAN.
Japan is building several huge semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) as part of a national strategy to revive its chip industry. This includes Micron Technology's planned $9.6 billion AI memory chip plant in Hiroshima, the government-backed Rapidus startup's advanced fab in Hokkaido, and a second plant from TSMC in Kumamoto. These projects leverage substantial government funding to attract foreign investment and build a new ecosystem for advanced chip production.Key projects:
- Micron Technology: The U.S. chipmaker plans to invest $9.6 billion in a new plant in Hiroshima to produce advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI applications, with construction starting in May 2026 and shipments beginning around 2028. Japan's government will provide up to ¥500 billion ($3.2 billion) in subsidies for the project.
- Rapidus: This Japanese startup, backed by the government and major corporations like Toyota and Sony, is building a state-of-the-art 2nm chip foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido. The government has invested $12 billion in the company to build this cutting-edge facility, which partners with IBM.
- TSMC: The Taiwanese company, which has already opened its first plant in Kumamoto, plans a second facility there with construction starting soon and aiming for operation by late 2027. Japan's government will provide significant funding for this second plant as well.
The cost for TSMC's second facility in Japan is estimated at approximately $13.9 billion and will be operational by the end of 2027. The Japanese government is supporting the project with subsidies of around ¥7.8 billion (about $7.8 billion), and the total investment for both TSMC Japan facilities is expected to exceed $20 billion.
********************************
Micron
See this link from the other day on the blog.
Micron Technology stock posted another comfortable gain, capping a stellar year that saw its shares jump 174% through Wednesday’s close. This huge momentum is driven by a massive surge in demand for memory hardware, and recent earnings reports from major PC makers Dell Technologies DELL and HP Inc. HPQ confirm that this demand, and the resulting price hikes, are real.
On Friday, Micron was the second-best performer in the S&P 500, with shares climbing 2.9%. This positive sentiment comes directly from the market recognizing that Micron, as a key memory supplier, benefits from the pricing power stemming from the AI and data center build-out. The company is poised to enjoy high margins and consistent revenue as long as the memory shortage persists.
Briefly:
- I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
- I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
- I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
- See disclaimer. This is not an investment site.
- Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.
- All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
- If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them.
- Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.
- Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
- I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
- And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
- I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
- And Oracle.
- Longer version here.
****************************
Of the Major Eight (?) --
Micron Is Turning Out To Be The Most Interesting / Surprising
Go over to x and search for Micron, or use this link.
Link here. Currently trading at $235. Price target raised to $340.
Link here.
Does Apple make its own memory chips?
AI prompt: the teardown for Apple's iPhone 15 shows the following from the "Memory Board": Cirrus Logic; Kioxia, Texas Instruments, and NXP. No mention of Samsung or TSMC. Earlier note suggested Apple buys memory chips from Samsung / TSMC. Are those the fabs; the others (Cirrus, Kioxia, TI, NXP), the designers?
The teardown:
Google search reply:
**************************
iPhone 17 Teardown
Many, many links. Easy to find.
The iPhone Air logic board includes the C1X 5G modem, the N1 networking chip, and the A19 Pro, all of which Apple designed. The iPhone Air is the first iPhone to have so many custom-designed Apple chips.
The other iPhone 17 models also have the A19 and the N1, but the iPhone Air also gets the C1X instead of a Qualcomm modem.
**************************
Movie Night
Watched The Third Man twice tonight. Saw things I missed before. What an absolutely incredible movie. Said to be the best British movie ever. Black and white, released in 1949 / 1950; still holds up. Amazing.