TSMC set to build advanced 5nm chip factory in US

[F-22Raptor]

Taiwan-based TSMC is the world's largest contract manufacturer of silicon chipsets and has long been Apple's primary supplier of A-series chips.

Now, TSMC is said to be on the verge of announcing new plans to build out an advanced 5-nanometer facility in Arizona, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.


The decision, reached by TSMC executives at a board meeting in Taiwan on Tuesday, could be announced as soon as Friday.

TSMC's new factory could be up and running by 2023, sources told the WSJ, adding that the U.S. departments of State and Commerce were involved in the plans. It's currently unclear if the company will receive financial incentives from the U.S., though a factory producing 5nm chips could cost more than $10 billion.

Apple is expected to move to 5nm processors with "iPhone 12" this year, later expanding utilization to other products like iPad and, for the first time, the Mac lineup.

News of the plans come as the U.S. grows more concerned about its reliance on supply chain infrastructure in Taiwan, China and South Korea for electronics and technology production.

On Monday, the Trump Administration was said to be discussing the possibility of building out chip fabrication plants in the U.S. with companies like TSMC and Intel.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...tsmc-to-reportedly-build-a-factory-in-arizona

 

[Han Patriot]

Foxconn tried doing it. Lol

 

[8888888888888]

I expects to see them to lose out in the long run. Taiwan government must have order them to do it.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, a major supplier to Apple Inc, announced on Friday it will build a $12 billion chip factory in Arizona, in what the company called a “strong partnership” with the U.S. government.

The move by the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of computer chips coincides with an effort by the administration of President Donald Trump to bring more foreign manufacturing to the United States.

The plant will create as many as 1,600 jobs and produce the most sophisticated 5 nanometer chips, TSMC said in a statement. The Taiwan company also has an older chip facility in Washington state.

TSMC said in a statement that construction on the facility would begin in 2021 and that it would be able to process up to 20,000 silicon wafers per month. Each wafer can contain thousands of individual chips.

“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...,” TSMC said, calling it a “strong partnership with the U.S. administration”.

Shares of TSMC, the world’s most valuable semiconductor company with a market capitalisation of $255 billion that exceeds Intel Corp’s, rose more than 1.5% on Friday morning, outperforming a 0.8% gain in the main Taiwan stock market.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the latest details of TSMC’s plans.

The move comes after the Commerce Department drafted a rule that, if implemented, could severely restrict sales of chips by TSMC to blacklisted Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei, a key customer. One of the two sources, a Commerce Department official, said the decision to locate the plant in the United States generates “good will” at the department.

TSMC makes the chips that power Apple’s iPhones, and the iPhone maker works closely with the chip manufacturer to become the first to take advantage of new advances in its chip-making processes.

Semiconductors play a key role in both consumer electronics and defense equipment. The vast majority of the most advanced chips are made in Asia, which has caused concern among U.S. officials as a strategic rivalry with China deepens over the origins of the deadly coronavirus.

While Intel has major manufacturing operations in the United States, it supplies only its own chips rather than making them for outside customers.

The Trump administration has been in talks with both Intel and TSMC to build a plant in the United States. One of the people said Intel would have been a problematic choice, because its customers would see Intel as both a supplier and a rival.

Last week, TSMC said it had been considering the United States as a location for a new factory but there was “no concrete plan yet.”

One of the sources said Commerce had spearheaded talks with TSMC over the potential plant over around two years.

Last week, Intel said it was in discussions with the Department of Defense about improving domestic sources for microelectronics and related technology.

The Department had been working with companies to bolster the supply chain for microprocessors, a person familiar with the matter said. The TSMC announcement is not expected to derail the Pentagon’s efforts, despite the Commerce Department’s working on the TSMC deal independently, the person said.

Apple and Intel declined to comment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...illion-u-s-factory-sources-idUSKBN22Q38T?il=0

Good to see the most advanced chips in the world will be made on American soil well into the future!

 

[Safriz]

So USA will have control on the next generation chip?
That's enough to start competition and end Taiwanese monopoly on chip manufacturing.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Make no mistake. They want total control.

Intel wasn't enough. GloFo wasn't enough. They wanted TSMC too. Why? Because TSMC manufactures for Huawei.

It is not enough for them to win. Everyone else must lose.

 

[Song Hong]

Now is 5nm mass pro, and 3nm pilot.

TSMC will get 5nm plant in 2023. Nothing amazing.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Now is 5nm mass pro, and 3nm pilot.

TSMC will get 5nm plant in 2023. Nothing amazing.

The US can practically hold TSMC hostage. Either comply to US government demands or lose Huawei revenue. Which is why you see this announcement today from TSMC. The US will have control of the most advanced chips well into the future.

 

[rott]

The US can practically hold TSMC hostage. Either comply to US government demands or lose Huawei revenue. Which is why you see this announcement today from TSMC. The US will have control of the most advanced chips well into the future.

The glue is pretty strong with this one.

 

[Song Hong]

Wall Streets are major shareholder of TSMC-- not Chinese.

Who is hostage to who?

The US can practically hold TSMC hostage. Either comply to US government demands or lose Huawei revenue. Which is why you see this announcement today from TSMC. The US will have control of the most advanced chips well into the future.

 

[Han Patriot]

Make no mistake. They want total control.

Intel wasn't enough. GloFo wasn't enough. They wanted TSMC too. Why? Because TSMC manufactures for Huawei.

It is not enough for them to win. Everyone else must lose.

Glofo and Intel doesn't control the most advanced process tech, only Samsung n TSMC. That's why Trump wants TSMC. But I think people are waiting to lose the elections.

 

[kankan326]

I pity Taiwan. Puppet Taiwan government has no choice. You chose US as your lord, you lost your economic sovereignty. Japan is another case.

To be honest I don't think 5nm and 3nm have cost-effective advantage compared with 7nm. For mobile phones, 7nm is good enough. Smaller chips are just money waste.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

I pity Taiwan. Puppet Taiwan government has no choice. You chose US as your lord, you lost your economic sovereignty. Japan is another case.

To be honest I don't think 5nm and 3nm have cost-effective advantage compared with 7nm. For mobile phones, 7nm is good enough. Smaller chips are just money waste.

Currently the mass market can't really afford 5 nm, 3 nm. It costs hundreds of millions to design for even 7 nm. For revenue, 7 nm is big, but you can see that older process nodes still have cost efficient applications.

However it isn't about whether you want or not, it is about the control. they will still want it at any cost.

It isn't about money anymore. This is not a commercial venture in the traditional sense. This is a political move.

 

[Yaseen1]

i think china should invade taiwan and annex them

 

[ILC]

But do you think this will be the only one TSMC 5nm fab?
So I think you think too much.