TSMC has begun building its third chip factory in Arizona. The news was announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which released a press statement about the development. The company received approval to start the construction, and equipment began operating on the site just hours after the approval.
A $100 Billion Investment in the U.S.
This new factory is part of TSMC’s commitment to investing $100 billion in the U.S. The company had already announced an initial investment of $65 billion, with the goal of creating a large manufacturing campus in Arizona. The new facility will help meet the increasing demand for chips in the U.S. and will play a key role in reducing the need for importing chips from other countries like Taiwan.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, visited the site and highlighted that this investment will create 40,000 construction jobs and contribute more than $200 billion to the Arizona economy.
TSMC’s Growing Presence in Arizona
The TSMC campus in Arizona is now the company’s largest operational presence in the U.S. The initial investment plan included building three factories, with the third factory dedicated to producing advanced chips, such as those using 2-nanometer technology. The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on the same day the company received the construction licenses.
The primary goal of this factory is to supply American companies with chips produced locally, instead of relying on imports. This strategy will help avoid the import taxes that Trump had threatened to reinstate.
CEOs from major companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD have expressed excitement about TSMC’s new factory. Apple, the biggest customer of TSMC, relies on the company’s chips for its devices, including smartphones and laptops. However, even if Apple sources chips from the Arizona factory, they may still need to be sent abroad for final assembly.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang hopes that the U.S. government will ease restrictions on the sales of advanced chips to certain countries. Huang believes these investments are crucial for the future of chip manufacturing in the U.S.
AMD’s CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, also announced that her company plans to use TSMC’s advanced 2-nanometer manufacturing process for high-performance computing applications.
