Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., TSM 2.32% the world’s largest contract manufacturer of silicon chips, is set to announce plans to build an advanced chip factory in Arizona as U.S. concerns grow about dependence on Asia for the critical technology.
The plans come as the Trump administration has sought to jump-start development of new chip factories in the U.S. due to rising fears about the U.S.’s heavy reliance on Taiwan, China and South Korea to produce microelectronics and other key technologies.
TSMC is expected to announce the plans as soon as Friday after making the decision at a board meeting on Tuesday in Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter. The factory could be producing chips by the end of 2023 at the earliest, they said, adding that both the State and Commerce Departments are involved in the plans.
TSMC’s new plant would make chips branded as having 5-nanometer transistors, the tiniest, fastest and most power-efficient ones manufactured today, according to a person familiar with the plans. TSMC just started rolling out 5-nanometer chips for customers to test at a factory in Taiwan in recent months.
It is unclear how much TSMC has budgeted or if it would get financial incentives from the U.S. to build. A factory capable of making the most advanced chips would almost certainly cost more than $10 billion, according to industry executives.
Politically, the announcement could be a win for President Trump who has been campaigning to get companies to build in the U.S. He has also been looking to make sure that Republicans retain their majority in the U.S. Senate. Arizona Sen. Martha McSally is among the Republicans facing a tough challenge in this November’s election.
“We shouldn’t have supply chains. We should have them all in the U.S.,” the president said on Fox Business on Thursday
TSMC has had to spend big to maintain its lead in chip-making, which requires some of the world’s most complicated manufacturing tools. In January the company outlined capital expenditures of between $15 billion and $16 billion for this year.
The plans come as the Trump administration has sought to jump-start development of new chip factories in the U.S. due to rising fears about the U.S.’s heavy reliance on Taiwan, China and South Korea to produce microelectronics and other key technologies.
TSMC is expected to announce the plans as soon as Friday after making the decision at a board meeting on Tuesday in Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter. The factory could be producing chips by the end of 2023 at the earliest, they said, adding that both the State and Commerce Departments are involved in the plans.
TSMC’s new plant would make chips branded as having 5-nanometer transistors, the tiniest, fastest and most power-efficient ones manufactured today, according to a person familiar with the plans. TSMC just started rolling out 5-nanometer chips for customers to test at a factory in Taiwan in recent months.
It is unclear how much TSMC has budgeted or if it would get financial incentives from the U.S. to build. A factory capable of making the most advanced chips would almost certainly cost more than $10 billion, according to industry executives.
Politically, the announcement could be a win for President Trump who has been campaigning to get companies to build in the U.S. He has also been looking to make sure that Republicans retain their majority in the U.S. Senate. Arizona Sen. Martha McSally is among the Republicans facing a tough challenge in this November’s election.
“We shouldn’t have supply chains. We should have them all in the U.S.,” the president said on Fox Business on Thursday
TSMC has had to spend big to maintain its lead in chip-making, which requires some of the world’s most complicated manufacturing tools. In January the company outlined capital expenditures of between $15 billion and $16 billion for this year.