According to The Wall Street Journal, the world's two largest chip manufacturers, TSMC and Samsung Electronics, may be discussing building chip projects in the United Arab Emirates in the coming years, with project values potentially exceeding $100 billion.
TSMC and Samsung executives recently visited Afghanistan
According to insiders, TSMC executives recently visited the United Arab Emirates and talked about building a factory complex comparable to its largest and most advanced factory in Taiwan.
In addition, Samsung Electronics is also considering launching new large-scale chip manufacturing businesses in the UAE in the coming years. It is reported that senior executives from Samsung Electronics recently visited the United Arab Emirates to discuss major new businesses in the country.
According to reports, the projects under consideration by these two chip giants may require a scale of over $100 billion to be completed. But the discussion is still in its early stages and may encounter technical obstacles.
According to the preliminary terms under discussion, these projects will be funded by the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala playing a central role.
UAE is striving to build a global AI center
According to reports, for the chip project under discussion, its construction goal will be to increase global chip production and help reduce chip prices without compromising the profitability of chip manufacturers.
Meanwhile, the UAE is also striving to become a regional center and testing ground for artificial intelligence. More broadly speaking, Gulf countries have been striving in recent years to transform towards technology in order to reduce their dependence on petrochemical products.
For example, recent sources have suggested that the UAE may be preparing to invest heavily in OpenAI to support an ambitious plan by the company's CEO Sam Altman to expand more machine and system applications for artificial intelligence technology.
For over a decade, Gulf countries have viewed the semiconductor industry as a growth opportunity. But these efforts have been difficult before, partly due to the lack of infrastructure needed to build chip factories in the Gulf region.
Generally speaking, the construction and equipment costs of chip factories and infrastructure can reach billions of dollars, and if not updated in a timely manner, they can quickly become outdated. And this cooperation negotiation with Samsung and TSMC may be aimed at resolving this constraint.