TSMC raises its investment in the Arizona chip industry to $40 billion ahead of Biden’s visit

New York
CNN Business
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is increasing its investment in the United States, announcing on Tuesday that it is building a second semiconductor plant in Arizona, increasing its investment there from $12 billion to $40 billion. The move represents one of the “largest foreign direct investments in US history,” according to the company.

at TSMC The plans come as tensions between Washington and Beijing over chips escalate, with President Joe Biden imposing a sweeping set of controls on the sale of chips and advanced chip-making equipment to Chinese firms.

Biden visited the manufacturer’s location in Phoenix and talked about bringing jobs and investment to the state. Other lawmakers and business leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, also attended the event.

“As many of you know, we work with TSMC to manufacture chips that help power our products around the world, and we look forward to expanding this business in the coming years as TSMC forms new and deeper roots in America,” Cook said during the event, adding that with the opening of the new facility Apple’s silicone wafers can be proudly stamped “Made in America”.

TSMC previously announced that it is building a $12 billion facility in Arizona that will eventually manufacture 3nm chips, TSMC’s most advanced technology. The company said thousands of “high-paying high-tech jobs” among manufacturers would be added to the country and 600,000 wafers would be produced annually.

TSMC accounts for an estimated 90% of the world’s high-end computer chips, supplying tech giants including Apple

(AAPL) and Qualcomm

(QCOM).

Chips are an indispensable part of everything from smartphones to washing machines — but they’re also difficult to make because of the high development cost and level of knowledge required, which means much production is concentrated among a handful of suppliers.

The White House is touting new investment as a direct result of Biden’s economic plan, including $200 billion Chips and the law of science. Biden has been visiting communities where companies like TSMC and Intel have announced new investments since the law was passed this summer.

“It means more workers in these larger factories, but it also means more opportunities for suppliers and contractors, good-paying construction jobs, and opportunities for small and medium manufacturers and suppliers,” National Economic Council Director Brian Dease told reporters on Monday’s call. . “It means economic opportunity for communities that have often been left behind in economic cycles, including the traditional energy communities that have supported our nation for generations and tribal peoples.”

Global chip shortage appeared for the first time at the beginning of the epidemic, Upending supply chains and changing consumer shopping patterns. Automakers have slashed their chip orders while tech companies, which have beefed up their products with locked living, have cut as many of them as they can.

The facility that Biden will visit on Tuesday in Phoenix is ​​scheduled to start producing chips in 2024. The new facility is supposed to start production in 2026.

— CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, Wayne Chang and Deeksha Maddock contributed to this report.