Apple Chip Manufacturing in U.S. to Expand Following New Partnership

Apple's chip manufacturer TSMC and chip packaging company Amkor on Thursday announced that the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on chip production, packaging, and testing in Arizona.

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In a press release, the two companies said that the close proximity of their facilities in Arizona will speed up the overall chip manufacturing process:

Under the agreement, TSMC will contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor in their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona. TSMC will leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC's advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix. The close collaboration and proximity of TSMC's front-end fab and Amkor's back-end facility will accelerate overall product cycle times.

Apple last year confirmed that Amkor would package Apple silicon chips produced at a nearby TSMC facility, as part of a shared desire to expand U.S. manufacturing. Tech journalist Tim Culpan recently reported that the TSMC facility had started small-scale production of the A16 chip, which debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro models two years ago. The lower-end iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models also use the A16 chip.

Apple said Amkor would invest approximately $2 billion in the project, and said it would employ more than 2,000 people upon completion.

"Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we'll continue to expand our investment here in the United States," said Apple's operations chief Jeff Williams, in a press release last November. "Apple silicon has unlocked new levels of performance for our users, enabling them to do things they could never do before, and we are thrilled that Apple silicon will soon be produced and packaged in Arizona."

This partnership comes a little over two years after the U.S. government passed the CHIPS and Science Act, which provides funding to corporations, including TSMC and Amkor, to increase U.S. semiconductor research and manufacturing.

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Top Rated Comments

Drecca Avatar
7 months ago
They build these facilities on the most stable land mass possible. Any seismic event leads to fab shutdown. That’s how sensitive the equipment is.

Water can be transported in and recycled.

That’s the main reason why Arizona. Finance and geopolitics come after that.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dumastudetto Avatar
7 months ago

Good news if this happens.
I believe Apple are deeply committed to this. They want more diversified manufacturing to counter the geopolitical risks currently ongoing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
7 months ago
Good news if this happens.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jml12286 Avatar
7 months ago
Pretty sweet. I like that we can start making some important things here.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
7 months ago

Don't chip manufacturing facilities use millions of gallons of water per day ('https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2024/06/12/tsmc-arizona-water-use-recycling/74059522007/')?

I don't know who thought it was a great idea to build such a water-dependent facility in what's probably one of the driest places in the North American continent, but that's some real 200 IQ big-brain thinking. ?
The quoted article seems to be making the opposite point. It says it's using a relatively small fraction of water and recycling most of it, after a large initial intake.

I don't quite understand why they put these in the deserts either, or how they plan to get the water, but it seems they're managing pretty well.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tenthousandthings Avatar
7 months ago

The quoted article seems to be making the opposite point. It says it's using a relatively small fraction of water and recycling most of it, after a large initial intake.

I don't quite understand why they put these in the deserts either, or how they plan to get the water, but it seems they're managing pretty well.
Taiwan is an island with finite resources, so I’ll guess TSMC is pretty good at recycling the water they use already.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)