| | APRIL 20248SAMSUNG TO SECURE AROUND $7 BILLION IN CHIP SUBSIDY FOR TEXAS EXPANSION Microsoft Corp, a US-based technology firm, will fund $2.9 billion over the following two years to support its hyperscale distributed computing and artificial intelligence framework in Japan, denoting its greatest interest in the country. The declaration was made in Washington after Microsoft President Brad Smith met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in the US for the main authority visit by a Japanese innovator in nine years. Microsoft will likewise grow its digital training projects to give AI skills to multiple million individuals over the following three years, the organization said in a proclamation. It intends to open a lab in Japan centered on AI and robotics technology, while developing its network protection joint effort with the Japanese government. Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, is all set to hold a culmination with President Joe Biden on Wednesday when the two leaders are supposed to give importance on the strength of US-Japan agreements in a great many regions, including safeguard, financial security, key innovations like semiconductors, AI technology and quantum computing. Kishida encouraged American business executives to support interest in Asia's second-biggest economy attached to key advancements, for example, semiconductors, AI and quantum computing. "Your investments will enable Japan's economic growth -- which will also be capital for more investments from Japan to the US," Kishida said at the start of a roundtable with business leaders in Washington. The leader of Japan is booked to visit the Toyota Engine Corp. battery plant and a Honda Airplane Co. manufacturing plant in North Carolina on Friday, where he will probably promote the advantages of Japanese ventures for the US economy. The Biden administration wants to announce next week that it would award between $6 billion and $7 billion to South Korea's Samsung to expand its chip manufacturing in Taylor, Texas, as part of its efforts to increase chipmaking in the United States, according to two people familiar with the subject. The subsidy, to be announced by Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo, will fund the construction of four facilities in Taylor, including a $17 billion chipmaking plant announced by Samsung in 2021, another factory, an advanced packaging facility, and a research and development center, according to one of the sources.The transaction would also include an investment in an unnamed site, according to the source, and Samsung will more than double its investment in the United States to more than $44 billion. It would be the third largest program, right behind Taiwan's TSMC, which promised to build a third Arizona factory by 2030 and raise its investment by $25 billion to $65 billion after receiving a $6.6 billion award, according to sources. The declaration comes on the heels of a slew of significant Chips and Science grants, as the United States aims to grow domestic chip production and divert funds that may have gone toward building operations in China and the area. The Chips and Science Act was adopted by Congress in 2022 with the goal of increasing domestic semiconductor output through $52.7 billion in manufacturing and research subsidies. Additionally, lawmakers authorized a $75 billion government loan program; but, according to one of the individuals, Samsung has no intentions to take up loans. The CHIPS Act aims to minimize dependency on China and Taiwan, as the United States' share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. IN FOCUSMICROSOFT TO INVEST $2.9 BILLION TO BOOST AI & CLOUD IN JAPAN
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