Micron Technology will deploy $250 billion in domestic chip manufacturing through 2035, up from prior guidance that totaled roughly $100 billion across its New York and Idaho expansions. The company announced construction has commenced on what it describes as the largest fabrication facility in US history, a multiphase complex in Clay, New York. Concurrently, Micron signed a $500 million partnership with GlobalWafers to secure 300-millimeter silicon wafers for the New York site, locking supply through the buildout.

The revision follows tightening in high-bandwidth memory markets. Micron ships HBM3E to Nvidia and is ramping HBM4 for 2026 deployment. Data-center operators are ordering memory modules eighteen months ahead of historical lead times, and wafer starts for leading-edge DRAM have moved from 70 percent utilization in early 2023 to sustained runs above 90 percent. Micron's capital intensity—capex as a percentage of revenue—will climb from the low teens to the high teens through 2027, a threshold last crossed during the DRAM shortages of 2017. The New York facility will produce both DRAM and NAND using process nodes below 10 nanometers, with first wafers scheduled for late 2026.

This matters because it signals the end of cyclical underinvestment in domestic advanced packaging. Micron is the only US-headquartered memory manufacturer at scale. Samsung and SK hynix retain fabrication advantages in Korea, where power costs run 40 percent below US industrial rates and where subsidy packages exceed $230 billion combined through 2030. Micron's expansion relies on $6.1 billion in CHIPS Act grants and $7.5 billion in federal loans, with New York State contributing $5.5 billion in tax credits. The combined package yields an effective subsidy rate near 22 percent of total capex, materially lower than Asian equivalents but sufficient to justify reshoring given tariff and export-control uncertainty.

The GlobalWafers deal is worth isolating. Silicon wafer supply has consolidated to four producers controlling 94 percent of global output. Lead times for 300-millimeter wafers stretched to 52 weeks in late 2023, and Micron's agreement pre-commits volume through 2032. GlobalWafers will build a $4 billion facility in Texas, supported by $400 million in CHIPS Act funding. The arrangement links two previously separate subsidy tranches into a vertical supply chain, a structure the Commerce Department has pursued to reduce single-point exposure. It also removes wafer-supply risk from Micron's construction schedule, which has historically slipped when substrate shortages coincide with node transitions.

Allocators should track Micron's HBM3E shipment cadence and wafer-utilization rates in the December and March quarters. If utilization holds above 88 percent and HBM revenue contribution exceeds 15 percent of total sales, capex guidance will likely rise again in mid-2025. Watch for announcements on packaging partnerships; Micron has not yet named an advanced-packaging supplier for its New York output, and TSMC's CoWoS capacity remains oversubscribed through 2026. New York construction milestones—particularly cleanroom commissioning dates—will determine whether the facility qualifies for accelerated depreciation under current tax provisions, which sunset in December 2026. Finally, monitor Samsung's response. The company has not announced comparable US investment, and any delay in its Taylor, Texas expansion would tighten HBM supply further and widen Micron's share in AI memory through 2027.

GlobalWafers will break ground in Sherman, Texas in the second quarter of 2025, six months ahead of its original schedule.