TSMC's Arizona chip plant in the United States may begin production as early as next year, Apple and Nvidia are expected to become the first customers
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Update time : 2022-12-05 16:55:16
December 5 news, according to Nikkei Asia reported that Apple and Nvidia will become the first customers of TSMC's chip plant in the United States in Arizona. It is reported that the plant will start production at the end of next year at the earliest.
As Bloomberg reported last week, urged by Apple and other U.S. customers, TSMC will produce 4-nanometer chips in the Arizona plant in 2024, and the company is expected to announce the new plan when U.S. President Joe Biden visits the plant on Tuesday.
TSMC initially planned to produce 20,000 wafers a month in Arizona, but now aims to double its capacity and produce more advanced chips there, the sources said. The initial plan was to build the chips using the same 5nm and 4nm process technology TSMC currently uses to produce the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro processor chips. Under the new plan, the Arizona facility will eventually produce another 20,000 wafers per month using 3-nanometer technology. Previously TSMC founder Chang Chung-Mou also confirmed that the Arizona plant will also produce 3nm chips, but the timing has not yet been determined.
The sources said that the investment in 3nm expansion could be larger than the $12 billion TSMC invested in the first phase of the plant, but the capacity will be further adjusted according to customer demand.
Earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned during a meeting with German employees that "Apple has decided that some of the chips will be sourced from the Arizona factory, which will be operational from 2024. Apple's latest chips are currently manufactured using the 5nm process, and the move to a more advanced process will further improve performance and energy efficiency.
We understand that Samsung and Intel are also massively expanding their chip production footprints in the United States. Samsung is building a $17 billion chip plant in Texas, while Intel is building a new $20 billion plant in Arizona and another $20 billion plant in Ohio.
