Micron to invest up to $3.6 bn in Japan to build AI-driven chips

TOKYO: Micron Technology will invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in Japan over the next few years, with close support from the Japanese government, to enable the next wave of end-to-end technology innovation such as rapidly emerging generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Micron Technology will introduce extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, tapping this sophisticated patterning technology to manufacture its next generation of DRAM, the 1-gamma node.

Micron will be the first semiconductor company to bring EUV technology to Japan for production, with its Hiroshima fab playing a critical role in the company's development of the 1-gamma node, the company said in a statement.

"We are proud to be the first to use EUV in Japan and to be developing and manufacturing 1-gamma at our Hiroshima fab. Our plans reflect our continued commitment to Japan, strong relationship with the Japanese government and the exceptional talent of our Micron Hiroshima team," said Micron President and CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra.

Micron enables increased memory density, improvement in power efficiency and lower cost per bit, helping to unlock new opportunities for digitisation, sustainability and green transformation, and automation.

"The announcement between Micron and Japan to produce 1-gamma memory in Hiroshima is a major step forward to secure semiconductor supply chains," said Rahm Emanuel, US Ambassador to Japan. "This partnership demonstrates how allies, when working together, can create economic opportunity and security in cutting-edge technologies."

EUV lithography is the most sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing process in the world.

Micron's integration of EUV into its next node will play a key role in allowing the node to deliver faster, more power-efficient and higher-performance memory products and will enable the company to further its relentless pursuit of industry-first memory innovation.