From a dentist's basement to half a trillion dollars and AI: Here's how memory manufacturer Micron Technology got there

Workers carry a Micron sign during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Micron Technology Inc. semiconductor manufacturing facility in Clay, New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. New York has provided up to $5.5 billion in tax incentives for Micron to create 9,000 new jobs with the company and over 40,000 jobs in supporting industries tied to the project.

Samsung, TSMC, SK hynix, even Intel—you're likely already familiar with the usual suspects of semiconductor manufacturing. Micron Technology is far from an underdog running with this pack, having held a steady position as one of the top 10 leading semiconductor companies in the world for years now. In other words, it's a multibillion-dollar company—still headquartered in Boise, Idaho, in the United States.

Sure, Micron also has plenty of semiconductor fabs outside of the US; alongside facilities in Idaho and Virginia, it's also got chip fabrication plants in Singapore, Taiwan, China, and Japan, much like its competitors.