Micron to build $15B memory fab near its Boise HQ

Micron will invest $15 billion in a new Boise, Idaho, fab for leading edge memory manufacturing, the company said Thursday. 

The company is based in Boise, although other states, including Virginia, had been hoping to attract the next big Micron fab.  About 6,000 Micron workers are located in Boise.

The spending over the next decade will create 17,000 new jobs, including 2,000 directly at Micron.  Micron previously said it was planning to spend $40 billion in the next 10 years on new fabs and this will be the first based on stimulation from the CHIPS and Science Act.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra praised elected leaders including President Biden for work on the Act, as well as the secretaries of commerce and defense.   He pointed to the need for semiconductors in their impact on the economy and national security.

It will be the first new memory fab built in the U.S. in 20 years. Memory is a large part of all chip production and will be needed for a variety of computers, including those used in data centers and vehicles that increasingly depend on AI and 5G.

Micron will push its investment for K-12 STEM programs and deepen partnerships with Idaho universities and other institutions. With the College of Western Idaho, Micron will partner on curricula such as Advanced Mechatronics Engineering Technology to prep students for a Micron technician apprenticeship.

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