All devices rely on memory chips for storing and accessing data, from smartphones to computers to the servers training generative AI models.

DRAM chips are made by just three companies, which produce more than 90% of the world’s supply. Micron, the only manufacturer in the U.S. and based in Idaho, is the latest target of China’s bans on U.S. technology. Samsung and SK Hynix are both headquartered in South Korea.

A quarter of Micron’s revenue comes from China, and “about half of that revenue is at risk,” said Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.

In the meantime, Micron is doubling down on U.S. manufacturing. Currently, Micron’s cutting-edge chips are made in Japan and Taiwan, but the company plans to bring advanced memory production to the U.S. in 2026 with a $15 billion chip fabrication plant in Boise, Idaho. The first cement was poured at Micron’s new fab in October as part of its 45th anniversary celebration.

Micron’s corporate vice president of front end U.S. expansion Scott Gatzemeier said, “Memory is very cost-sensitive and we must get economies of scale to mass produce our chips.”.

Compared to high-powered central processing units from Intel and AMD and graphics processing units that spurred Nvidia’s growth, DRAM and NAND memory chips are cheaper. Making memory, however, requires more fab space because each GPU or CPU requires multiple memory chips. 

As a result, Micron is planning to build four 600,000 square foot fabs in upstate New York over the next 20 years, spending $100 billion.

Micron’s Manassas, Virginia factory produces that product. It receives assistance from the federal CHIPS and Science Act, which offers billions of dollars to encourage domestic production.

According to Mehrotra, Micron’s investments through CHIPS support in Boise, Idaho, and Syracuse, New York, will change that 2% over the course of nearly 20 years to about 15% of worldwide production.