TSMC to Invest $40 Billion in US Chip Plants

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) confirmed it will expand chip production in the US. The company unveiled plans to boost its total investment to $40 billion and build a second factory using 3nm process technology.

The contract chipmaker will increase the planned production capacity from 240,000 wafers per year to 600,000 when the second plant goes online in 2026. The two facilities will create 4,500 jobs, nearly triple the originally planned headcount. TSMC’s first $12 billion facility in the US will produce chips using its N4 process and is scheduled to open in 2024. The company originally planned to use its N5 generation process to make 5nm chips.

At an event marking the arrival of the first batch of chip-making equipment, TSMC chair Mark Liu said it aimed to deliver the greenest chip manufacturing facility in the US, producing the most advanced semiconductor process technology in the country. TSMC revealed plans for an on-site industrial water reclamation plant which will allow it to achieve near-zero liquid discharge. US President Joe Biden, Apple CEO Tim Cook, AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su, and Nvidia president and CEO Jensen Huang attended the ceremony.