Apple chip supplier TSMC recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona, DigiTimes reports.
TSMC Arizona Completion CeremonyThe $12 billion factory will be the first of its kind to mass-produce 5nm chips in the United States. All of Apple’s latest chips, dating back to the A14 Bionic and M1 chips, are made with a 5nm process. In a LinkedIn post, TSMC said:
Great progress continues at our 5 nanometer semiconductor factory – “FAB 21” – in #Phoenix, #Arizona. We recently celebrated the placement of the final truss – also known in the construction industry as an “overcome” milestone – in the FAB 21 fabrication building with our local partners. Over 4,000 attendees were on hand to enjoy this important moment, including our own employees and partners. #TSMCArizona is on time and on track to bring the most advanced cutting-edge semiconductor technology to the United States. We are deeply grateful to our partners and look forward to more successful milestones in Arizona.
Last year, TSMC President Mark Liu announced that the company’s Arizona factory would begin mass production in the first quarter of 2024. Likely customers for chips made at the Arizona factory include Nvidia, Qualcomm and Apple. The new Arizona factory will theoretically allow Apple’s custom 5nm silicon chips to be manufactured in the United States for the first time.
Apple is rumored to be moving its custom silicon to a 3nm process starting with the M2 Pro or M3 chip. The iPhone 14 Pro’s A16 chip is expected to continue to be manufactured with a 5nm process, so it’s highly likely that Apple will still need a supply of 5nm chips from TSMC in early 2024 when the Arizona plant will open for mass production.
TSMC’s main factories are located in Taiwan, but it already operates a factory in Camas, Washington, as well as design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California, meaning the Arizona factory will be its second manufacturing site in the United States. Yesterday it was reported that Apple was opening a new development site in Israel to develop future custom silicon chips for the Mac.
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