At the start of the week HEXUS reported on rumours that White House officials were in talks with the likes of Intel, TSMC, and Samsung to build new advanced chip manufacturing facilities in the US. After years of such tech facilities drifting east, the US government decided that semiconductor self-sufficiency was something worth encouraging.
Between now and then there have been various follow up reports, with some pouring cold water on the idea that TSMC would make such an investment. However, the Trump administration must have drafted a carrot stick scheme that was hard to refuse, as today TSMC officially announced its intention to build and operate an advanced semiconductor fab in the United States.
TSMC has secured the mutual understanding and commitment of support from the U.S. federal government and the State of Arizona in the new venture. The plan for the Ariozona plant is as follows:
- Construction will begin in 2021
- Facility will be designed for N5 semiconductor wafer fabrication
- Production is targeted to begin in 2024
- Fab should achieve 20,000 semiconductor wafer per month capacity when up and running
- Venture will create 1,600 high-tech professional jobs directly, and thousands of indirect jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem
- TSMC will be investing approximately US$12 billion from 2021 to 2029
In its news release TSMC provided some of the reasoning behind its decision to make such a big investment in Arizona. "This U.S. facility not only enables us to better support our customers and partners, it also gives us more opportunities to attract global talents," said the news release. "This project is of critical, strategic importance to a vibrant and competitive U.S. semiconductor ecosystem that enables leading U.S. companies to fabricate their cutting-edge semiconductor products within the United States and benefit from the proximity of a world-class semiconductor foundry and ecosystem."
TSMC already has a fab in Camas, Washington and design centers in both Austin, Texas and San Jose, California.
