Samsung is expanding its chipmaking complex in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, to meet rising demand for memory used alongside processors in generative AI systems. The scale of the project is visible both in the construction underway and in the daily routines of the people building it.
Why AI needs more memory
Generative AI models run on powerful chips called GPUs. Those processors depend on stacks of specialized memory chips packaged with them, making memory an important part of the hardware behind AI computing.
Samsung is building new manufacturing capacity in Pyeongtaek as demand grows. Three fabs at the complex already operate around the clock, and a fourth is coming online. A fifth fab was paused during a 2024 decline in memory-chip demand, then restarted as the AI boom pushed demand higher.
The expansion reflects a change in the market: Samsung had watched its domestic rival SK Hynix pull ahead in the global market for high-bandwidth memory models used in Nvidia’s AI accelerators. The Pyeongtaek build-out is Samsung’s effort to regain ground in memory chips. TSMC, meanwhile, has dominated the foundry business, manufacturing chips designed by other companies.
A construction site built for scale
The complex sits in Pyeongtaek, a farming city south of Seoul, where rice paddies meet the sprawling industrial site. Its campus covers an area about the size of New York City’s Central Park. Workers move between work zones, lunch spots and transport on foot, scooters and motorcycles.
At lunchtime, construction crews leave the fabs in helmets and sky-blue vests. Nearby buffets, diners and beef stew joints serve workers, while banners advertise short-term studio apartment leases. Some workers visit real estate offices, using counters also frequented by Samsung’s salaried engineers.
These details show how the build-out reaches beyond the factory structures themselves. The campus brings together construction, transport, food and housing around a project intended to add semiconductor capacity. Workers’ routines are shaped by the size and pace of the site.
Safety alongside speed
At the fourth fab, safety officer Choi Hye-rin oversees a crew building cable ducts. Her work includes writing reports, inspecting equipment and checking the chemicals workers handle. She is one of hundreds of women on the site; many work as spotters who walk ahead of heavy equipment.
Safety messages are visible throughout the construction area. Banners tell workers, “Even if the work runs late, don’t rush.” A large LED scoreboard displays winners of a safety-poem contest, and helmets carry the pledge, “I will not work if it’s not safe.” Excavators and tower cranes continue operating among the structures under construction.
The signs sit beside a clear sense of urgency. Samsung predicts memory-chip demand will continue to surge through 2028, and the company is building capacity while competing to regain its position in high-bandwidth memory. The site’s safety routines and its construction pace are both part of that effort.
Workers expect the boom to continue
Despite the heat and crowded work zones, Choi says she does not plan to leave. “The rate here is higher than other construction sites, and the work is relatively easy,” she says. She earns 140,000 won ($97) a day and expects demand to keep the work available. “You just keep coming back.”
For Samsung, the complex is a response to the growing memory needs of AI hardware and a bid to strengthen its place in the market. For the people on site, that strategy means a steady stream of construction work, carried out across a campus where safety and speed are both in view.