SILICON, USA: THE COMPANIES THAT BUILD TECHNOLOGY IN AMERICA

Samsung

Factory location: Austin, TX

Products produced in US: 14nm-65nm chips

Samsung opened operations in Austin in 1997, and it now has several factories in its Austin complex. It employs about 10,000 people total, according to the Austin American-Statesman; about 3,000 are Samsung employees, and the rest are contractors.

ExtremeTech estimates that Samsung Austin produces about 5% of the world’s volume of 300mm wafers. Using 3D FinFET technology, the Austin foundry primarily focuses on 11nm/14nm and 28nm/32nm technologies, with customers and applications including SSD controllers, Tesla vehicle chipsets, and Qualcomm radio-frequency chips.

The company recently submitted papers to the Texas government asking for tax incentives to build a new $17 billion chip factory, which will employ 1,800 more people with an average starting salary of around $66,000.

Corning

Factory locations: Harrodsburg, KY, among others

Products produced in US: Gorilla Glass, optical fiber and cable, Valor Glass, labware products, ceramic substrates for automotive Corning is a 170-year-old firm based in upstate New York that has always been at the leading edge of glass and ceramic technologies. US customers, for Corning, means US manufacturing: “Corning strategically locates our facilities closest to our customers to facilitate efficient supply for their immediate manufacturing needs and provide us access to global markets,” the company said.