Micron plans $200B US memory chip expansion backed by CHIPS funding

In short: Micron says it will invest $200 billion to expand memory chip making in the US, and the Trump administration is treating it as a major part of its chip strategy, even though the build-out will take years.

What happened

Micron Technology announced plans to invest $200 billion in US semiconductor manufacturing and research and development. The focus is on “memory chips” (the parts that store data, like short-term and long-term memory in a computer).

The plan includes a second advanced chip factory in Boise, Idaho, updates to Micron’s Manassas, Virginia site, and up to two more factories in New York. The Virginia work includes moving some production know-how from Taiwan to the US.

The US Department of Commerce tied the announcement to federal support under the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law meant to encourage more chip production in the US. Commerce previously awarded up to $6.165 billion in direct CHIPS funding for three Micron factories in Idaho and New York, and it added up to $275 million more alongside the new $200 billion plan. Officials said the combined projects could support about 90,000 jobs across construction, factory work, and related suppliers.

This also fits into a wider Trump administration approach that mixes subsidies with tariffs. In January 2026, Trump used a trade law called Section 232 to put a 25% tariff on certain advanced computing chips, with some carve-outs tied to building US capacity.

Why it matters

Chips are a key ingredient in phones, cars, and AI data centers, so the US wants more of them made at home. But chip factories are more like building a power plant than opening a store, they take years to build and ramp up, so this is a long-term plan, not a finished turnaround.

Source: NYTimes