Chip maker TSMC confirms plan to open $12 billion factory in Arizona
Apple's processor manufacturing partner TSMC has officially announced that it will open an advanced semiconductor fabrication plant in Arizona, with the first batch of chips expected in 2024.
TSMC's headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Following previous reports that TSMC was planning to open a new fabrication plant in the US, the chip maker has now confirmed that it will spend $12 billion building in Arizona.
"This US facility not only enables us to better support our customers and partners, it also gives us more opportunities to attract global talents," said the company in a statement.
"This project is of critical, strategic importance to a vibrant and competitive US semiconductor ecosystem that enables leading US companies to fabricate their cutting-edge semiconductor products within the United States and benefit from the proximity of a world-class semiconductor foundry and ecosystem," it continued.
The company says that facility construction is planned to start in 2021. It expects chip production will begin in the finished plant in 2024, but its $12 billion expenditure is to be spread over 2021 through 2029.
Taiwan-based TSMC makes Apple's A-series processors used in its iPhones and iPads, with the company expected to move to 5nm processors for the "iPhone 12" later this year. TSMC's new plant will be a 5nm fabrication facility, and so may also provide processors for the rumored ARM-based Macs when it gets going.
TSMC's move to produce more processors within the US follows years of technology companies looking to reduce their dependency on Taiwan and China. It also follows this week's news that President Trump has threatened to tax companies as an incentive to have them move production to the US.
TSMC's headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Following previous reports that TSMC was planning to open a new fabrication plant in the US, the chip maker has now confirmed that it will spend $12 billion building in Arizona.
"This US facility not only enables us to better support our customers and partners, it also gives us more opportunities to attract global talents," said the company in a statement.
"This project is of critical, strategic importance to a vibrant and competitive US semiconductor ecosystem that enables leading US companies to fabricate their cutting-edge semiconductor products within the United States and benefit from the proximity of a world-class semiconductor foundry and ecosystem," it continued.
The company says that facility construction is planned to start in 2021. It expects chip production will begin in the finished plant in 2024, but its $12 billion expenditure is to be spread over 2021 through 2029.
Taiwan-based TSMC makes Apple's A-series processors used in its iPhones and iPads, with the company expected to move to 5nm processors for the "iPhone 12" later this year. TSMC's new plant will be a 5nm fabrication facility, and so may also provide processors for the rumored ARM-based Macs when it gets going.
TSMC's move to produce more processors within the US follows years of technology companies looking to reduce their dependency on Taiwan and China. It also follows this week's news that President Trump has threatened to tax companies as an incentive to have them move production to the US.
Comments
Long term, it is a reasonable strategy, even with the government helping out which is how it should be IMO. The control of IoT security has long been a concern to many, and the chipset supply chain has been the biggest worry of them all. It would make sense to have IoT chipsets fabbed locally along with phone SoCs etc.
Between now and 2024 there will be an incredible amount of IoT devices hitting the market. Far outnumbering phone chipsets.
The Taiwanese chipmaker said the plan was to build the plant over nine years.
...
A U.S. Commerce Department official said TSMC’s decision to locate the plant in the United States generated “good will” at the department, the drafter of a law that would, if implemented, severely restrict TSMC chip sales to Huawei.
Credit Suisse analysts said proposed restrictions could threaten TSMC’s 14% of sales from Huawei, escalate U.S.-China tensions and delay the rollout of the next-generation 5G mobile network.
“While it is hard to be certain, we believe that TSMC announcing a U.S. Fab could remove the threat of further Huawei restrictions in the very near-term at least,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note."
-- Trump gets a talking point for his re-election campaign
The U.S. needs secure manufacturing for leading edge ARM silicon, and while Taiwan is still independent of China (China disagrees with that), that may not always be the case. More to the point, why would the U.S. allow leading edge technology with dual purpose, military and civilian, to be readily available to our primary adversary?
BTW, Trump has just sent the U.S into unknown territory with his actions on semiconductors and Huawei today.
Waiting.....
No, just because he lives in the real world doesn't make him a troll. Now the OP that he was responding to, now that's likely a different story.
Yeh, like every failed dictator, Trump needs an enemy to distract his followers from his own failures.
China seems to be getting tired of his bullshit -- like using national security as an excuse to start otherwise illegal trade wars. His cult believe anything he says -- so he assumes that the rest of the world will too. But, actually, they're mostly placating him and laughing at him.
Well, actually, no need to speculate. Reuters already published the Chinese response to Trump's stupidity:
"The reaction from China was swift, with a report on Friday by China’s Global Times saying Beijing was ready to put U.S. companies on an “unreliable entity list,” as part of countermeasures in response to the new limits on Huawei.
The measures include launching investigations and imposing restrictions on U.S. companies such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), as well as suspending purchase of Boeing Co (BA.N) airplanes, the report said here citing a source."
It's clear that China is done placating that fool and will hit us back in kind. Thanks Trump!
"The new restrictions on Huawei are a firm reminder that Taiwan cannot trust the US as a reliable business or economic partner, Tom Fowdy, a British political and international relations analyst, told the Global Times, noting that the White House pushed TSMC to invest in America, and then within hours of getting that is slapping restrictions on their business with Huawei.
Still clueless.
TSMC is not a Chinese company, hence, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
It is absolutely the case that China believes that Taiwan (the island of Formosa) belongs to them, but that is a long way from crushing Taiwan's democracy, which is what China wants to do, same as what they want to do to Hong Kong.
LOL.
Again with the stupid;
"The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the CCP's People's Daily newspaper, commenting on international issues from a Nationalistic perspective".
Global Times is the official mouthpiece of the CCP. and you are quoting it like it means something.
It means a lot.
Again, I think that the U.S. should disengage, and I don't care if the EU sticks it out in China, that's on them, but China will just drink the EU's milkshake anyway.
What happened to the GTA Advanced building in Phoenix, Arizona? Why not just use that building? Maybe TSMC doesn't have to build anything?
The only ones who do not recognize Taiwan as part of China is Trump and his cult followers. The rest of the world sticks stubbornly to reality.