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TSMC to build a $12 billion advanced semiconductor plant in Arizona with U.S. government support
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract semiconductor foundry, said today that it plans to build an advanced chip foundry in Arizona with support from the state and the United States federal government.
The announcement follows a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week that White House officials were in talks with TSMC and Intel to build foundries in the U.S., as part of its effort to reduce reliance on chip factories in Asia. Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC provides chip components for many of the world's largest semiconductor companies and its U.S. clients include Apple and Qualcomm.
The plant, scheduled to start production of chips in 2024, will enable TSMC's American customers to fabricate their semiconductor products domestically. It will use the company's 5-nanometer technology and is expected to create 1,600 jobs and have the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers a month.
The U.S.-China trade war, national security concerns, geopolitical unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic have all underscored the shortfalls of relying on foundries located abroad and international supply chains.
The U.S. government has reportedly been in talks with TSMC for months, though one sticking point for the company was the high cost of building a new foundry. TSMC chairman Mark Liu told the New York Times in October that the project would require major subsidies because it is more expensive to operate a factory in the U.S. than in Taiwan.
Also at AnandTech, The Verge, CNN, South China Morning Post, Wccftech, and Bloomberg.
Previously: U.S. Attempting to Restrict TSMC Sales to Huawei
Washington in Talks with Chipmakers about Building U.S. Factories
Related: TSMC Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for "5nm" Fab, Production to Begin in 2020
TSMC Has Started Development of a "2nm" Process Node
(Score: 3, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday May 15 2020, @03:54PM
Because Foxconn [wikipedia.org]. *cough, cough* They managed to duck out of their building a plant there thanks to the need to manufacture ventilators for COVID, apparently.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by bzipitidoo on Friday May 15 2020, @03:54PM (10 children)
1600 jobs, eh? Should be easy enough to hire 1600 people at dirt cheap pay, what with the soaring unemployment rate. And yet, it might all be a lot of hot air that comes to nearly nothing, and hardly anyone will be hiredn like the way Foxconn in Wisconsin went down.
This is clearly an effort to reduce American reliance upon foreign plants and workers, out of paranoia that the current host nations will turn on the US. /sarcasm/I can't imagine why any nation would!/sarcasm/. Very clumsy and spotty.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @04:07PM
Trump Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 15 2020, @04:09PM
I think TSMC will follow through on it. Will it provide many jobs? Nah. It's going to be automated to the greatest extent possible, as all manufacturing should. The 1,600 number is probably for construction.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @04:16PM (6 children)
Why Arizona? Any explanation for that choice?
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @04:28PM (2 children)
It's a Red State
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @04:36PM
Yeah, I get that. But maybe a pink or purple state would be a more strategic choice?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by epitaxial on Friday May 15 2020, @06:18PM
They probably got the fattest and longest tax break. All these states and cities will give incentives like 10 year tax breaks and stuff like that. Usually after 10 years the company pulls out.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday May 15 2020, @05:18PM
Yeah, Arizona is a nice place. The desert is prettier than Nevada's, especially around Tucson.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 5, Informative) by slinches on Friday May 15 2020, @05:24PM
The Phoenix area has historically been a significant location in the semiconductor industry dating back to Motorola in the 50s.
These companies all have facilities in the valley:
Amkor Technology
Arm
ASM
ASML
Broadcom
Cirrus Logic
Entrepix
Everspin Technologies
FlipChip International
Integrated Device Technology
Infineon
Intel Corporation
Marvell Technologies
Microchip Technology
NXP Semiconductors
ON Semiconductor
Qualcomm
Retronix Semiconductor
SUMCO
Sumitomo Chemical
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @06:18PM
Fewer earthquakes than California.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 15 2020, @06:23PM
arizona? sounds like 1600 wetbacks to me.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by richtopia on Friday May 15 2020, @07:34PM (1 child)
The article mentions that TSMC already has an 8" fab in Camas, Washington. Which is a 45 minute drive from Intel in Hillsboro. Now they are promising to build a next gen fab in Arizona, which will probably be a hop, skip, and a jump away from Intel's Chandler site.
I cannot blame them. Even if we ignore concerns about sniping talent, the area already has suppliers and infrastructure in place to support a large cleanroom.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 16 2020, @04:33AM
Just curious what your concerns are about "sniping talent"... That current Intel workers may have a greater selection of employment opportunities?
(Score: 2) by corey on Friday May 15 2020, @11:54PM (1 child)
Good for jobs but not sure about strategically. TSMC are Taiwanese, they're not far from being Chinese the way things are going. I wonder if the authorities that be have that in mind.
Either cut them loose and let them fall to China or embrace and support, then give them a hand if China walks in. Not sure that current administration would do that.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 16 2020, @12:45PM
Once it's built, TSMC will either use the fab or sell it to some American company. But they have a lot of American customers, Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm being big ones, so they will probably stick around. This is a win for the U.S., as long as they don't renege before it's built (that's where most of the cost is).
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