Only a quarter of this year has passed, and the Russia-Ukraine incident has already occurred that shocked the world. Since Russia took actions against Ukraine, Western countries have begun to deliberately target Russia, which has had varying degrees of impact on many fields in Ru

Only a quarter of this year has passed, and the Russia-Ukraine incident has already occurred that shocked the world. Since Russia took action against Ukraine , Western countries have begun to deliberately target Russia, which has had varying degrees of impact on many fields in Russia, and has in turn affected many industries around the world. Because Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of a variety of key chip materials, the chip industry has been deeply affected.

Recently, U.S. officials are preparing to introduce a US$52 billion chip subsidy policy in an attempt to accelerate the development of the local semiconductor industry. The United States seems to have also extended an olive branch to United Microelectronics and plans to conduct some cooperation...

United Microelectronics may build a factory in the United States

Recently, according to media reports, the United States invited UMC to Detroit The purpose of building the 12-inch wafer fab is to enable UMC to provide automotive chips for local car manufacturers. As we all know, Detroit has always been famous for its automobile industry and is known as the "Motor City". The headquarters of three large American car companies, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler , are all located in Detroit.

If the two parties finally reach an agreement, it will be the first time that UMC builds a factory in the United States and manufactures automotive chips. Professionals believe that if UMC accepts the invitation from the United States, the investment in is expected to reach about 700 million US dollars, and the initial monthly production capacity of can reach 71.57 million to 70,000 pieces of . It is not only conducive to the overseas market expansion of UMC itself, but also conducive to the development of the semiconductor industry in the United States.

At present, UMC has not yet made a statement in response to the above situation. It only emphasized that the company will adopt a more dispersed production base strategy and continue to evaluate and establish factories around the world.

As a "car city", Detroit has the support of three major American car companies, producing traditional fuel vehicles as well as electric vehicles. Many auto parts now require automotive chips to be used, which has also led to a surge in the use of automotive chips by car companies. Coupled with the recent turmoil in Russia and Ukraine, automotive chips are in short supply.

UMC has great advantages in manufacturing automotive chips: the automotive process covers a wide range of equipment and is applicable to many and so on. This is why the United States chose to extend an olive branch to UMC.

There is currently a global chip shortage. Samsung and UMC have previously announced that they will build factories in the United States.

In addition to UMC, the United States has also reached agreements with several other large high-tech companies.

On May 15, 2020, TSMC announced that it would cost 120html to establish a chip factory in the United States. At that time, U.S. officials actively promoted semiconductor companies to establish chip factories in the United States to reduce chip imports from other regions. It is reported that this chip factory will be based on the 5nm process and will be mass-produced in 2024, with a monthly production capacity of 20,000 pieces.

On March 15, 2021, in order to increase production in the United States, Intel invested 200html to establish two new chip factories in Arizona, USA, to build two new chip factories, mainly manufacturing the 7nm process. Mass production is expected to be achieved in 2024.

On November 24, 2021, Samsung announced the establishment of a chip factory in Texas, USA. It will cost 470html 700 million US dollars and will start construction in 2022. After mass production is achieved, it will mainly manufacture 5nm processes for Mobile 5G, AI and other fields.

The United States is trying every possible means to get many high-tech companies to settle in the United States. What does it want to do? Industry insiders said that some time ago, many international car companies were "short of chips" and they all hoped to have stable chip foundry services to ensure a stable supply of chips.

Whether it is Samsung, TSMC, or UMC, the United States warmly welcomes them to settle in. Previously, in addition to the supply of domestic chip companies such as Intel, the United States also imported a large number of chips from Asia to meet domestic chip demand.In the past two years, chip subsidy measures have appeared frequently in the United States. It seems that the United States intends to reduce its demand for overseas chips, keep foreign technology in the country, and realize domestic independent manufacturing of chips.

However, some experts believe that if the United States does this, is likely to increase the risk of chip monopoly . Chip companies such as Samsung, TSMC and UMC all possess extremely sophisticated chip manufacturing technology. After the United States introduces these companies, while increasing domestic production, it is likely to restrict exports in order to achieve a chip monopoly.

Text | Title by Zhao Jinjie | Review by Zeng Yi | Li Zepu