Apple has recently ramped up its US chip production in Arizona, but TSMC’s CEO says you shouldn’t expect the latest and greatest chips to be US-made any time soon. Here’s why.
TSMC CEO blames compliance issues for US missing out on advanced chips
Apple chipmaker TSMC is currently building its third US-based chip plant in Arizona, thanks to significant grants from the US CHIPS Act.
However, the company’s CEO says you shouldn’t expect to see cutting-edge tech be produced in the US.
Wen-Yen Lee writes for Reuters:
TSMC’s new U.S. plant is unlikely to get the most advanced chip technology before factories in Taiwan due to complex compliance issues, local construction regulations and various permitting requirements, the Taiwanese company’s CEO said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co CEO and Chairman C.C. Wei said building the new factory in Arizona has taken at least twice as long as in Taiwan, in comments detailing specific challenges for the U.S. as it seeks to rebuild its domestic chip manufacturing sector.
“Every step requires a permit, and after the permit is approved, it takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan,” Wei said late on Thursday at a National Taiwan University event. He added that it would therefore be hard for TSMC to use its latest technology in the U.S. before Taiwan.
TSMC regularly updates and improves its manufacturing processes, and per Wei, current US regulatory standards wouldn’t allow those changes to happen fast enough.
Thus, despite the $65 billion the company is investing to build its three Arizona factories, it sounds like those shiny new plants will be reserved for older tech.
Apple’s current US chip production supports claim
We’ve already seen this play out with Apple’s US manufacturing.
TSMC Arizona currently produces Apple’s A16 Bionic chip which was introduced in 2022 as part of the iPhone 14 Pro, and is now in the base iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.
It also recently added the S9 SiP from 2023’s Apple Watch Series 9.
Neither of these chips are especially old, but they also aren’t the latest and greatest Apple silicon innovations. And Wei’s comments help explain why.
With the rapid growth of AI and growing importance of chip manufacturing to AI’s success, perhaps we’ll start to see tides turn and US investment grow accordingly.
What do you think of the TSMC CEO’s comments? Surprising, or not so much? Let us know in the comments.
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