Samsung Announces Unprecedented $648 Billion Investment in AI and Semiconductor Technologies
Samsung Group is poised to reveal one of the most ambitious corporate investment plans in history — a decade-long commitment of 1,000 trillion won (approximately $648 billion) to boost South Korea’s standing in the global AI and semiconductor race. This comprehensive plan is anticipated to be officially announced at a meeting between top executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday, June 29.
The investment is intended to span various sectors including AI data centers, semiconductor fabrication, battery technology, display manufacturing, and robotics infrastructure. A particularly notable aspect involves up to 300 trillion won set aside for constructing new state-of-the-art chip factories in South Korea’s southwest region. This move is aimed at decentralizing the country’s tech manufacturing beyond the crowded Seoul metropolitan area. Samsung Group’s presidential policy adviser pointed out that the demand for AI-driven memory is increasing so rapidly that projects initially planned for the 2040s may need to be brought forward to the mid-2030s.
With this announcement, Samsung’s commitment surpasses even the U.S. Stargate initiative ($500 billion) in headline figures, demonstrating South Korea’s resolve to compete across multiple layers of the AI stack simultaneously — from raw silicon and HBM memory to full-scale data center infrastructure. Samsung currently dominates the global DRAM market with a 38% share, as per Counterpoint Research Q1 2026 data. However, the plan has sparked some domestic political controversy over the location of new investment hubs.
Source: Business Standard / Reuters – Samsung to unveil $648bn investment plan