Apple chipmaking partner TSMC has confirmed that it will begin mass chipmaking production in 2024 at its new Arizona factory, Nikkei Asia reports.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu announced that the company’s $12 billion factory in Phoenix, Arizona, which is currently under construction, will begin mass production in the first quarter of 2024.
“We are in the due diligence process now to have a specialty technology fab in Japan,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said, referring to a chip fabrication plant. “It is still early to disclose the decision, because it will be based on our customer needs, operating efficiency evaluation and cost economics.” The potential fab in Japan is not included in TSMC’s three-year, $100 billion capital expenditure plan, he added.
A group of engineers that will staff the new US factory arrived in Taiwan back in April for training. The company is looking to accelerate its schedule for the facility as much as is feasible.
The facility will mass-produce chips fabricated with a 5nm process. Likely clients for the chips made in the Arizona factory include Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Apple. The new Arizona plant will make it possible to manufacture Apple’s 5nm custom silicon chips – including the A14 or M1 chip – within the United States.
TSMC’s main factories are based in Taiwan, but it also operates a factory in Camas, Washington, and has design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California.