Taiwan's TSMC announced plans to build a second chip plant in Arizona and more than triple its initial investment to $40 billion. When the factories are operational, TSMC expects to generate an annual revenue of $10 billion.
One of the greatest foreign investments in U.S. history was made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the largest chip contract manufacturer in the world. By 2024, the first chip fabrication facility, or fab, will be operational, and by 2026, a second facility nearby will be producing "3-nanometer" chips, the most sophisticated ones currently being produced.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said the two plants will create 13,000 high-paying tech jobs, including 4,500 under TSMC and the rest filled by suppliers. According to Liu, when both fabs are finished, "we will manufacture over 600,000 wafers a year, representing
$10 billion in yearly revenue," and customers who use those chips would generate more than US$40 billion in sales each year. The gleaming disc used to make chips is known as a wafer.
An inaugural ceremony for the new US$12 billion factory in a dry and desolate area of northern Phoenix was attended by others, including US President Joe Biden and the CEOs of important TSMC customers. Major TSMC clients Apple Inc., Nvidia Corp., and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. stated that they anticipated their chips to be produced in the new Arizona facilities.
"We work with TSMC to manufacture the chips that help power our products all over the world. And we look forward to expanding this work in the years to come as TSMC forms new and deeper roots in America," Apple CEO Tim Cook said.
"AMD expects to be a big customer, of both fabs and we're committed to working closely with TSMC and the entire ecosystem," AMD CEO Lisa Su said.
Top executives led by TSMC founder Morris Chang, 91, celebrate the factory opening with sparkling champagne against the backdrop of the new facility, which is covered with an American flag and a banner saying "A Future Made in America Phoenix, AZ."
