Electronic Engineering Times (EETimes), January 12 — Recently, memory chip giant Micron Technology announced that it will officially kick off the construction of its massive wafer fab project in Clay, Onondaga County, New York, U.S., on the afternoon of January 16. With a total investment of approximately $100 billion, this project marks the largest private investment initiative in New York State’s history. It will involve the phased construction of four advanced wafer fabs to create the world’s most cutting-edge memory semiconductor manufacturing hub.

Initially scheduled to break ground in mid-2024, the project was delayed by about 18 months due to the need to complete an environmental impact assessment report spanning thousands of pages. According to the latest plan, Micron Technology will finish site clearance work by March 31, followed by the construction of a railway spur and wetland grading. The first fab is expected to start production in 2030, the second in 2033, and all four fabs are planned to be fully completed by 2045, creating approximately 9,000 direct jobs by then.

Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology, stated earlier that this project will solidify the company’s position as the only U.S.-based memory chip manufacturer and help meet the rapidly growing demand for memory chips in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. During the Biden administration, Micron received $5.5 billion in tax incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act. This investment is a key part of its strategy to increase U.S.-made DRAM production to 40% of the global total.

Market data shows Micron maintains a significant position in the memory chip sector. In the third quarter of 2025, the company held a 21% revenue share in the global HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) market, ranking third behind SK Hynix (57%) and Samsung Electronics (22%). In the overall DRAM market, Micron claimed a 26% share, also securing the third spot. If it achieves the target of 40% market share, the company is poised to become the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer.

Financially, Micron reported adjusted revenue of $13.64 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, representing a 57% year-on-year increase, with a net profit of $5.482 billion. The company forecasts revenue of $18.7 billion for the second quarter, far exceeding market expectations. Mehrotra noted that the rapid expansion of AI data center capacity is driving strong demand for high-performance memory devices.

This project is seen as a crucial move for Micron to compete for leadership in the global memory market. By building advanced manufacturing facilities, the company plans to significantly boost production capacity for core products like DRAM, addressing the sustained growth in demand for memory chips in AI, data centers, and other sectors. As the project progresses, Micron is expected to further strengthen its competitive position in the global semiconductor supply chain.