Texas Instruments announced Wednesday it would break ground in 2022 on a new semiconductor campus in Sherman, Texas.
In a company statement November 17, the Dallas, Texas-based semiconductor manufacturer said construction on two of possibly four chip fabrication plants—or “fabs”—would begin next year. All told, TI said, the campus could cost as much as $30 billion, include up to four fabs in total, and eventually support 3,000 new jobs.
The site is designed to scale up over a period of time to four plants in order to meet long-term demand for chips, TI said, but production from the first fab of 300-millimeter processing chips could start as soon as 2025. TI anticipates demand for semiconductors to grow over the long term, including notably in automotive and industrial settings.
The new fabs, TI CEO Rich Templeton said, “are part of our long-term capacity planning to continue to strengthen our manufacturing and technology competitive advantage and support our customers’ demand in the coming decades.”
Templeton, in a statement, noted the company’s longstanding relationship with the state in its name. “Our commitment to North Texas spans more than 90 years,” he said. Texas Instrument’s existing operations include two other plants in the Lone Star State, one in Dallas, Texas and another in Richardson; a third fab is currently under construction next to the existing Richardson plant.
The announcement comes as the United States grapples with a shortage of semiconductors for key manufacturing products due to high demand and scare domestic sourcing options.
