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Credit: Laura Ockel/ Unsplash, PCMag

(Credit: Laura Ockel/Unsplash) It was previously reported that Apple has been urging TSMC to begin producing some of its more advanced chips in America. This would allow Cupertino to claim it’s using American-made silicon in its devices, a first for Apple. A new report confirms this will indeed be happening, but TSMC won’t be making 3nm chips at first, contrary to earlier reports. Instead, it will be focusing on its N4 process, which should be online in 2024. By then, that will be far from bleeding-edge technology, but the company will eventually produce 3nm chips in Arizona as well.

News of TSMC’s plans comes from notable Apple reporter Mark Gurman and company of Bloomberg. Previously TSMC was expected to start production of 5nm chips in Arizona, but it has apparently jettisoned that notion in favor of N4 production, which is a more advanced version of its process. It still falls under the 5nm family of products but offers improved efficiency and performance. The company is investing $12 billion into the fab in order to get production started by 2024. It will reportedly announce its plans next week during a presser with President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Apple CEO Tim Cook will be at the event as well.

An artist’s rendering of what fab in North Phoenix will look like when it’s complete in 2024. (Image: TSMC)

TSMC is rumored to be only taking baby steps with its new fab, however. It’ll supposedly be cranking out just 20,000 wafers a month, and Apple is expected to claim about a third of that output, which is table scraps for both companies. TSMC currently produces 1.3 million wafers a month from its Taiwan facilities, so the latest news reinforces the “symbolic gesture” label a Bloomberg opinion writer had called the move. Still, it will give companies access to an advanced node producing American-made chips. TSMC will also be adding a second plant nearby that will handle some 3nm production in the future. However, no timeline was given for when that facility would begin manufacturing.

The move by TSMC marks the first time the company will produce some of its more advanced products outside of Taiwan. This will likely give the company some resiliency against the worst-case scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The US government also passed the CHIPS Act earlier this year to bolster efforts by companies producing semiconductors in the United States. The act provides billions in subsidies for both fab expansion and R&D. However, TSMC seems to be intent on keeping its most advanced node under its own roof in Taiwan. It’s just now beginning production at 3nm, and by 2024 that will likely be the main product it’s offering to partners such as Apple, AMD, and Nvidia.

Now read:

• Commerce Secretary Issues Stark Warning About Losing Access to Taiwan Fabs
• Intel Urged to ‘Explore Alternatives’ to Manufacturing Its Own Chips
• TSMC Suspends Advanced GPU Production for Chinese Startup

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