TSMC Increasing Arizona Chip Plant Investment To $40 Billion. This Is What It Means For Apple

TSMC, which is one of the key iPhone makers for Apple has said it would more than triple its planned investment at its new chip manufacturing plant in the US state of Arizona to $40 billion.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that Apple will buy US-made chips at an event in Arizona where Biden also spoke.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, popularly known as TSMC, which is one of the key iPhone makers for Apple has said it would more than triple its planned investment at its new chip manufacturing plant in the US state of Arizona to $40 billion, among the largest foreign investments in US history, the media has reported.

This comes after US President Joe Biden visited and hailed TSMC's facility in Arizona, said a report by news agency Reuters. TSMC has already announced its plans to set up a factory in Arizona, which is set to open in 2024. This also comes amid Apple CEO Tim Cook confirming that Apple will buy US-made chips at an event in Arizona where Biden also spoke.

"American manufacturing is back, folks," Biden was quoted as saying by Reuters in a speech against the backdrop of the new factory draped with an American flag and a large banner reading "A Future Made in America Phoenix, AZ."

Mark Liu, chairman of TSMC has estimated annual revenue of $10 billion when the two planned chip fabrication plants open, adding that customers would have annual sales of $40 billion from products using chips made there.

To recall, earlier in November, Apple said it is planning to use chipsets from a factory in the US state of Arizona starting in 2024, in an attempt to reduce its dependency on Asian production, which has been disrupted due to workers' unrest in China. The tech giant is also planning to source chips from Europe in the future.

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, a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had said.

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 last month that it is planning to set up a second chip factory in Arizona because of “strong customer demand.”

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 had reported, citing people familiar with the expansion plans.