While Apple boss Tim Cook was looking for divine guidance from the Pope yesterday, archrival Samsung was announcing a new plan to triple production of advanced semiconductors.

Samsung’s five-year plan to expand its production capacity for advanced chips by 2027 includes an investment of billions in both the USA and South Korea.

The timeline could help the company regain ground from semiconductor giant TSMC.

In its overnight press release, following an announcement at the annual Samsung Foundry Forum event, Samsung committed to expanding its production capacity for advanced nodes “by more than three times” by the year 2027.

The company also plans to introduce a two-nanometre process in 2025 and a 1.4nm process by 2027.

The company says it’s responding to “significant market growth in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), 5/6G connectivity and automotive applications,” which has made “innovation in semiconductor process technology critical to the business success of foundry customers.”

Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Intel are battling to develop the next generation of processors in a tough environment with all three Companies having to fork out tens of billions on new plants many outside of Asia during the next five years.

Samsung’s plan includes bringing online a new factory currently under construction in Taylor, Texas, as well as potentially expanding existing foundry manufacturing lines in nearby Austin and three locations in South Korea.

“The technology development goal [of bringing circuit widths] down to 1.4 nm and foundry platforms specialized for each application, together with stable supply through consistent investment, are all part of Samsung’s strategies to secure customers’ trust and support their success,” said Choi Si-young, head of the company’s foundry business, at the Samsung Foundry Forum in San Jose, California, on Monday. Samsung hosts the annual event to update clients on the company’s latest technology and strategy.

Samsung has already said it will produce 2 nm chips by 2025, as the company started production of 3 nm chips in June. TSMC also said in June that it will produce 2 nm chips by 2025.

U.S. company Intel, meanwhile, is aiming to manufacture 1.8 nm chips by late 2024. Japan is also said to be working with the U.S. on 2 nm chip manufacturing technology, to be deployed by 2025.

Donnie Teng, an analyst with Nomura Securities, said Samsung, as a huge tech conglomerate, has the resources and capital to bet big on advanced chip manufacturing and is a viable player.

“Samsung has the solid tech and financial foundation of doing advanced chip production, and basically that means it could definitely attract some clients’ demand for applications related to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing looking forward, as those chips really require massive computing power,” Teng said.

However, he added that Samsung also faces challenges, such as potentially competing with its own clients in some areas, given its position as a manufacturer of both chips and electronic devices.

“Meanwhile, Samsung also needs to serve internal needs for chips for Samsung’s own products, so it will have less flexibility than someone like TSMC, who is only doing one thing to support its wide range of customers,” Teng said.