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TSMC Arizona plant will start mass production in 2024; Apple chips likely

TSMC’s Arizona plant has been expected to begin production in 2024, and this has now been confirmed by the company’s chairman.

There’s no official word as yet on widespread reports that the plant will be used to fabricate Apple A-series and M-series chips…

TSMC first announced plans for the US plant back in May.

After a few days of rumors, it is now official. TSMC announced in a press release that it intends to build a chip factory in the United States, specifically in Arizona.

Construction is expected to begin in 2021 and the first chips from the fab could be manufactured in 2024. TSMC is the exclusive manufacturer of the A-series chips Apple uses in its iOS devices […]

It is widely expected that Apple’s chip orders will eventually be fulfilled — at least partly — from the Arizona plant.

The company didn’t comment at the time on either suggestion, but Nikkei Asia reports that chairman Mark Liu has now confirmed the timings.

Liu confirmed for the first time that the $12 billion factory that TSMC is building in Arizona will start mass production in the first quarter of 2024, and said the first batch of engineers hired in the US to staff the facility arrived in Taiwan late April for training.

“We will continue to compress our schedule [for the project] as much as we can,” Liu said.

The company is also planning on expanding into Japan for the first time.

C.C. Wei, CEO of TSMC, said the world’s top chipmaker is conducting “due diligence” to determine the feasibility of a chip facility in Japan. Nikkei Asia earlier reported that TSMC is considering building a factory in the western prefecture of Kumamoto […]

“We are in the due diligence process now to have a specialty technology fab in Japan,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu added, 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.

That plant, if built, is likely to make chips for Sony.

Photo: Colin Lloyd/Unsplash

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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