The AI boom runs on GPUs. GPUs, it turns out, run on memory, and Samsung is building as fast as it can to supply it.
The company is expanding its semiconductor manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, into one of the most ambitious memory production sites anywhere. Three fabs already run around the clock. A fourth is coming online, and a fifth is back under construction after a year when the economics looked grim.
A campus that never sleeps
Samsung’s Pyeongtaek campus sits in Gyeonggi Province. It has grown steadily since its first fab, known as P1, launched in 2017. The site now has three active fabs, and the next two are where the real ambition lives.
At P4, Samsung is converting a production line from NAND to a dedicated DRAM line. The P4 DRAM line is targeting a production capacity of 100,000 to 120,000 wafers per month by Q1 2027. The line will use Samsung’s 1c process, its latest generation of DRAM manufacturing technology.
The fab that got paused, then unpaused
P5 is the most telling piece of the story. Construction on the fifth fab was halted in 2024, when demand for memory chips dropped. Then the AI boom sent demand soaring, and the work restarted.
Construction on the P5 complex has accelerated, and groundbreaking for the second line came six months ahead of schedule. Each P5 fab represents an investment of over 60 trillion won. The fabs are designed with triple-deck cleanrooms to maximize output, and capacity targets run into the hundreds of thousands of wafers per month.
Shifting the production mix
Samsung isn’t only building new capacity. It’s also repurposing existing lines.
The company is reallocating some NAND production capacity to DRAM at both its Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong facilities. The driver is a supply shortage in server DRAM, particularly DDR5. Premiums on server DDR5 prices have reached 70%.
The financial results reflect the shift. Samsung’s Q3 2026 operating profit surpassed 100 trillion won, a record quarterly figure bolstered by HBM and DRAM sales.
Beyond Pyeongtaek
Samsung is backing a 360 trillion won investment plan for a cluster in Yongin, which will involve six new fabs. The first of those is projected for 2029.
What this means
There’s also a knock-on effect worth watching in NAND. Shifting lines toward DRAM could tighten storage memory supply at the margin.
For investors following the semiconductor sector, the key milestones are now laid out on a calendar. Watch whether P4 hits its 100,000 to 120,000 wafer target by Q1 2027. Watch whether the server DDR5 premium holds as new supply arrives. And watch whether Yongin’s first fab stays on track for 2029.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.