Apple Planning To Use US-Made Chips In Its Devices By 2024, Reduce Dependency On Asia: Report

The company has "already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona", Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted as saying.

In an attempt to reduce its dependency on Asian production, Apple is planning to use chipsets from a factory in the US state of Arizona starting in 2024. The tech giant is also planning to source chips from Europe in the future, the media has reported.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company has "already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona". Cook mentioned this during a meeting in Germany, says a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made the disclosure during an internal meeting in Germany with local engineering and retail employees as part of a recent tour of Europe, according to remarks reviewed by news agency Bloomberg. It should be noted that if the Cupertino-based tech giant purchases processors manufactured in the US, it would mean a significant diversification in its supply chain away from Taiwan.

“We’ve already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in ’24, so we’ve got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less,” Cook was quoted as saying, according to Bloomberg.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited or TSMC has already announced its plans to set up a single factory in Arizona to open in 2024. The Arizona plant will reportedly focus on chips that use the latest manufacturing technology. TSMC also said earlier this month that it is planning to set up a second chip factory in Arizona because of “strong customer demand”.

TSMC, which is one of the major iPhone makers for Apple has started construction of a multi-billion dollar building that could serve as its second chipset factory in the US state of Arizona, reports said earlier this month. The world's biggest contract manufacturer of chipsets is planning in the coming months to announce its cutting-edge semiconductor plant north of Phoenix, beside another chip factory that the company committed to in 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the expansion plans.

Meanwhile, the construction of TSMC's first chip plant in the US state of Arizona is running three to six months behind schedule, previous reports said. The reasons are said to be a mix of COVID-19 surges, labour shortage and difficulties in obtaining construction licenses.