Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest foundry company with more than half of the global market share, hosted Tim Cook and President Joe Biden at the opening ceremony of its factory. Tim Cook spoke at this event held in Arizona and confirmed that Apple’s processors and chips will be manufactured in the USA.“And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly branded Made in America,” Cook said. “This is an incredibly important moment,” he said.
iPhone and other Apple products will use US-based processors
The factories, which will be operated by TSMC, will manufacture the most advanced processors in the US, including chips in the latest iPhones, iPads and Macs. The facilities will produce Apple’s A-series and M-series processors, as well as Nvidia’s advanced graphics processors. The production of these chips will be carried out in 4 nanometer and 3 nanometer production technologies.
“Apple had to buy all advanced chips from overseas, now they will bring most of their supply chain home,” said President Joe Biden. “It can change the rules of the game.”
TSMC currently does most of its production in Taiwan, and this raises questions from US and European legislators about securing supply in the event of a possible Chinese invasion or other regional issues. Chip companies like Nvidia and Apple design their own chips but outsource production to companies like TSMC and Samsung Foundry.
US CHIPS law attracts investment
The factories in Arizona will be partially subsidized by the US government. Earlier this year, Biden passed the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes billions of dollars in incentives for companies developing chip manufacturing capacity on US soil.TSMC said on Tuesday it will spend $40 billion on two Arizona facilities. The first factory in Phoenix is expected to start production by 2024. The second factory will be operational in 2026.
According to the National Economic Council, TSMC facilities will produce 600,000 wafers (chipplates) per year when fully operational, which is enough to meet US annual demand. AMD CEO Lisa Su also announced that they plan to become a major buyer of TSMC Arizona factories.
On the other hand, Intel is establishing new facilities in Arizona and Ohio with incentives introduced. Intel was already a major chip maker, but has lagged behind TSMC and Samsung in recent years. The firm aims to return to leadership by 2030.
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