Memory semiconductors are essential for everyday consumer products, such as smartphones and personal computers. A specialized category of memory chips is also critical to the artificial intelligence revolution. High bandwidth memory chips sit directly next to Nvidia’s accelerated computing processors on AI servers, forming the backbone of modern data centers. But there’s a problem.
There is a global shortage of memory semiconductors. Companies that manufacture memory chips can meet only about 66% of global demand for these essential components of the modern economy. Suppliers are effectively sold out through all of 2026. This shortage has driven the share prices of the three companies that manufacture HBM chips sharply higher over the past year. Samsung and SK Hynix of South Korea, along with Micron, America’s memory chip champion, hold a dominant position in advanced memory. Importantly, this advantage was earned through superior technology and execution, not price fixing or cartel behavior.
With little coverage from major media outlets, Micron is taking decisive action. The company has launched an unprecedented capital spending program, and this year will begin construction on three semiconductor fabrication plants in the United States. On Friday, Micron will break ground on the most important of these facilities. Near Syracuse, New York, the company will begin work on a $100 billion semiconductor manufacturing complex. Over the next few years, Micron will invest up to $200 billion in semiconductor memory capacity.
This investment by a private American company exceeds China’s projected 2026 semiconductor subsidies of $70 billion. The Micron project in New York marks a defining moment in American industrial policy. It represents the largest private investment in New York’s history and a major vote of confidence in bringing advanced manufacturing back to the U.S.
Semiconductors are the foundational building blocks of the modern economy. Electrons moving through chips power everything from smartphones and vehicles to advanced weapons systems and the infrastructure supporting AI. In 1990, the U.S. accounted for roughly 37% of global semiconductor production. Today, that share has fallen to about 12%. Even more striking, fewer than 2% of the world’s advanced dynamic random access memory chips are currently manufactured in America. Micron’s decision to build a leading-edge memory facility in New York signals a turning point. The investment will reduce reliance on foreign manufacturing, particularly fabrication capacity concentrated in Taiwan, a region under constant threat of military coercion from China. America’s national security will be stronger as a result.
At the same time, this investment is a powerful reminder that capitalism works. The project is expected to create roughly 50,000 jobs over the next decade, revitalizing a long-struggling region of upstate New York with high-paying technical and manufacturing positions. The importance of this project goes well beyond employment. It demonstrates that advanced manufacturing still matters. Micron’s investment strengthens both America’s physical capital and human capital, which are essential to economic leadership in the 21st century.
The massive fabrication plant will support a broad ecosystem across the semiconductor supply chain. Micron will purchase advanced lithography machines from ASML, a Dutch company, and significant volumes of equipment from American firms such as Applied Materials and Lam Research. The U.S. and its allies already dominate many of the physical inputs required for chip manufacturing, and this investment will reinforce that advantage.
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Friday’s groundbreaking should be celebrated as a major win for New York and the nation. Unfortunately, this important achievement is tempered by the continued opposition of anti-capitalism activists who delayed the project by nearly five years.
As the U.S. faces an existential strategic competition with China, fast-tracking critical infrastructure investments such as Micron’s is not optional. It is a national security imperative.
James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for over 30 years. He writes a daily note on markets and politics.