Samsung Electronics has marked the full opening of its semiconductor research hub in Yokohama, expanding a Japan-based development base focused on back-end technology and advanced packaging for higher-end AI chips. The center is designed to work closely with Japanese materials and equipment suppliers as well as research institutions. Around 95 researchers from Japan and Korea are working at the site, according to current Japanese reporting. Samsung plans investment of roughly 40 billion yen through 2028, including support from the Japanese government. Advanced packaging has become more important as AI chips combine multiple components and require higher-density connections, thermal management and faster data movement. Japan remains strong in semiconductor materials and production equipment, while Samsung brings large-scale memory and chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Yokohama hub places those strengths in a shared development environment. Samsung established the research base in 2023 and has been building out its experimental and evaluation capability. The full opening makes the site more than a representative office: it becomes a working R&D node in the company’s effort to compete in the packaging technologies that increasingly shape performance at the high end of the semiconductor market.

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