Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) is set to receive a financial boost from Japan in the form of 200 billion yen ($1.48 billion). This funding is expected to be announced when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets a delegation of executives from chipmakers on Thursday. The money will be used to install advanced, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) chipmaking equipment from ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) NV at its Hiroshima facility to fabricate DRAM chips.
DRAM chips are memory chips that lose the memory when the power is off. Micron is also expected to contribute its own capital to the Hiroshima expansion with some support from the city. Japan has been striving to reinvigorate its chip sector, whose global market share has fallen to about 10% from around 50% in the late 1980s.
Micron, ASML and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. This funding is a major step forward for Micron and will help them to stay competitive in the global chip market.