Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will buy US-made chips at an event in Arizona on Tuesday, where President Joe Biden also spoke, reports CNBC.
The fabs, located in Arizona will be owned and operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC already produces processors for the latest iPhones, iPads and Macs.
TSMC currently manufactures most of its products in Taiwan. Enough to pose logistical and security problems in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Chips with an etching fineness of 4 and 3 nanometers
The factories will be able to manufacture chips with an etching fineness of 4 and 3 nanometers for processors such as Apple’s A and M series and Nvidia’s graphics processors.
The Arizona factories will be partially subsidized by the US government. Earlier this year, Mr. Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which provides $52 billion in incentives for companies that build chipmaking capacity on US soil.
AMD said it expects to be a significant user of the factories at these TSMC factories. Intel, for its part, has declared that it wants to compete with Apple and is building chip factories in Arizona and Ohio. Here too the subsidies of the CHIPS law should apply, and chip production should start in 2025.
“These chips can be proudly stamped Made in America”
TSMC said it is spending $40 billion on the two Arizona factories. The first factory, located in Phoenix, is expected to produce chips by 2024. The second factory will open in 2026.
At full capacity, these two factories should supply components to the annual demand of the United States.
“And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly branded Made in America,” Cook said. “It’s an incredibly meaningful moment.” And that’s just the beginning, Cook said. “We combine the expertise of TSMC with the unparalleled ingenuity of American workers.”
“It could be a game-changer,” Biden said.
Google is doing it too
And the movement is a movement of funds which also affects research across the Atlantic.
Last September, Google announced that it was partnering with the US government to supply chips and nanotechnology. The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a cooperation agreement with Google to develop and produce these chips.
Under the deal, Google will pay the initial cost of setting up production and subsidizing the first set of chips, so the design is expected to be open source.
SkyWater Technology will manufacture these chips as 200 millimeter discs of silicon at its semiconductor foundry in Bloomington, Minnesota. Buyers will then be able to slice the discs into thousands of individual chips in their own facilities.