Micron breaks ground on 9 billion western Japan plant expansion

Micron Technology on Saturday broke ground on the expansion of its factory in western Japan, a ¥1.5 trillion ($9.3 billion) undertaking to produce advanced memory chips. The Boise, Idaho-based company is building the facility in Hiroshima to make chips such as high-bandwidth memory crucial for AI processors like Nvidia's, with shipments to start around the summer of 2028. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has allocated up to ¥500 billion to help cover the cost. The move is part of a global rampup by the U.S. company to meet demand for AI. Micron is building two leading-edge fabs in Boise and in January held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $100 billion production site outside Syracuse, New York, part of a pledge to increase DRAM production on American soil. "Micron's very first HBM production wafer -- for the memory technology at the heart of AI -- was made right here in Hiroshima," Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said during a ceremony attended by central and local government officials.