Micron Technology will invest $10 billion over the next decade in a research institution as it looks for ways to unclog the memory supply chain, the company announced Thursday.
Micron Research Labs will bring together academia, government, the chip industry, and customers to pursue advancements in semiconductor architecture and manufacturing.
Micron expects to break ground next year on a flagship campus in Boise, Idaho.
The announcement comes as Micron attempts to fend off potential competition from Chinese memory suppliers. Micron got notable early endorsements from both the Trump administration and Apple, a core customer that the government has discouraged from using imported hardware.
"Memory is fundamental to the AI era, and by uniting the entire innovation ecosystem here at home, we can help ensure the next generation of breakthroughs are invented, developed, and scaled in America," Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement.
"Apple believes deeply in American innovation, and we're proud to support Micron as it expands leading-edge manufacturing and R&D in the United States," Apple CEO Tim Cook added.
Micron stock jumped 2.3% on Thursday. Shares have soared more than 700% over the last year, bringing the company's market capitalization above $1 trillion.
Memory suppliers find themselves in an awkward spot after such a hot run. The companies have thrived precisely because of a lack of investment in past years. Demand now far outstrips supply, pushing prices and profit margins to historic highs.
In addition to Micron, rivals like SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Sandisk are all reaping the benefits.
But memory is a historically cyclical industry, and companies need to expand supply to retain long-term market share and capture growing demand. Micron, for instance, plans to invest $250 billion in its U.S. supply chain through 2035. It broke ground on a $100 billion facility in Clay, N.Y., earlier this year.
The prevailing expectation is that new supply will slow the breakneck pace of memory inflation. But research breakthroughs could, in theory, keep production costs down and help Micron sell more advanced, higher-margin memory products.
And if a Boise-based research lab also helps the company stay on the Trump administration's good side, all the better.
That said, $10 billion is still a lot of money. Micron's total capital expenditures are expected to total around $28 billion in fiscal 2026 and $47 billion next year, per FactSet. Every billion poured into long-term projects represents a billion taken away from short-term free cash flow.
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