Samsung celebrates full opening of Yokohama semiconductor hub

Yokohama – South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics held a ceremony to mark the full opening of its semiconductor research base in Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Amid growing demand for higher-end chips in line with wider use of artificial intelligence, the company aims to enhance cooperation with Japanese material and equipment makers and research institutes.

Some 100 people, including Samsung executives, representatives of the Japanese and South Korean governments, and officials of Samsung client companies, attended the ceremony held Tuesday.

Samsung Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said that he believes the new base, located in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai waterfront district, will become a driving force for promoting technological exchanges between the two Southeast Asian countries and the joint development of their next-generation semiconductor packaging industries.

The research base was established in 2023 to accelerate the development of technology for the back-end process, which involves the assembly of final chip products. After facilities and equipment were introduced in stages, the base became capable of conducting full-scale experiments and evaluations this year.

A total of 95 people, including researchers from Japan and South Korea, currently work at the base.

Samsung plans to invest ¥40 billion ($260 million), including ¥20 billion subsidies from the Japanese government, in the base by 2028.