Micron Expands Hiroshima Plant for Next-Gen HBM - 조선일보

Micron Technology has announced plans to expand its production facilities in its Hiroshima plant in Japan to meet the growing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in AI servers. This move signals Mi... Read original →

Micron’s Hiroshima expansion isn’t just capacity—it’s a strategic play to embed itself in the HBM ecosystem. The ¥1.5 trillion investment accelerates adoption of 1γ and EUV-based DRAM processes, directly threatening SK Hynix and Samsung’s HBM4E lead. This will likely force Korean rivals to fast-track HBM5 roadmaps and tighten customer lock-ins. Japan’s METI subsidy—covering nearly one-third of costs—not only de-risks Micron’s compliance exposure but reveals Tokyo’s urgency to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing, especially as Rapidus lags on 2nm. Over the next 12–24 months, the HBM duopoly will fracture into a three-way race, widening both price pressure and technology gaps while boosting AI server buyers’ leverage. More profoundly, global DRAM supply chains are shifting from the East Asia triangle (Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan) toward a U.S.-Japan axis, embedding geopolitical premiums into memory pricing.