Tim Cook says Apple will use chips built in the U.S. at Arizona factory

Eric

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  • Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will buy U.S.-made microchips at an event in Arizona on Tuesday, where President Joe Biden also spoke.
  • The chip factories will be owned and operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the biggest foundry company with over half of the global market share.
  • “And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped Made in America,” Cook said. “This is an incredibly significant moment.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will buy U.S.-made microchips at an event in Arizona on Tuesday, where President Joe Biden also spoke.

Cook said Apple would buy processors made in a new Arizona factory, according to a video from the event.

“And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped Made in America,” Cook said. “This is an incredibly significant moment.”

The chip factories will be owned and operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the biggest foundry company with over half of the global market share. TSMC produces the most advanced processors, including the chips in the latest iPhones, iPads and Macs.

The plants will be capable of manufacturing the 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer chips that are used for advanced processors such as Apple’s A-series and M-series and Nvidia’s graphics processors.

“Today is only the beginning,” Cook said. “Today we’re combining TSMC’s expertise with the unrivaled ingenuity of American workers. We are investing in a stronger brighter future, we are planting our seed in the Arizona desert. And at Apple, we are proud to help nurture its growth.”

“Apple had to buy all the advanced chips from overseas, now they’re going to bring more of their supply chain home,” Biden said. “It could be a game-changer.”

Cook tweeted on Tuesday that Apple would be the “site’s largest customer.”
 

Cmaier

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where’s the RAM come from? Will they have to send the chips to Singapore to get packaged?
 

jbailey

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where’s the RAM come from? Will they have to send the chips to Singapore to get packaged?
Micron is opening a huge new $20 billion plant in Syracuse, NY. I’m not sure that they announced what components they are going to manufacture but Micron did high density RAM last I checked.
 

Nycturne

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While it's good to see more pieces falling in place, I think the question of the supply chain is an interesting one. I'd be curious if we start seeing more diversified supply chains in the future or not with high tech again.
 

lizkat

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Micron is opening a huge new $20 billion plant in Syracuse, NY. I’m not sure that they announced what components they are going to manufacture but Micron did high density RAM last I checked.

Misread the opening of that post as "Macron is opening a huge new..." and thought Biden amazing for persuading the French prez into a gig like that over a single White House dinner.

I'll just see myself out now.
 

theorist9

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Is the intention for these plants to produce the most advanced chips TSMC makes, or will Apple still need to source those from Taiwan? It says the first plant will open in 2024 and produce 3 nm chips, but those could be N3, and by 2024 TSMC may be on N3P. Plus no mention was made of the 2 nm process, which is slated for 2025.

For instance, the non-Pro iPhones and Apple Watch don't use the latest cutting-edge chips, so these plants could be for those.
 
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Cmaier

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Is the intention for these plants to produce the most advanced chips TSMC makes, or will Apple still need to source those from Taiwan? It says the first plant will open in 2024 and produce 3 nm chips, but those could be N3, and by 2024 TSMC may be on N3P. Plus no mention was made of the 2 nm process, which is slated for 2025.

For instance, the non-Pro iPhones and Apple Watch don't use the latest cutting-edge chips, so these plants could be for those.
It sounds like the plan is to [always, at least for now] be a node behind. Apple says it is buying chips from that fab, which makes sense because apple’s product mix always includes products that are a node behind.
 

theorist9

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It sounds like the plan is to [always, at least for now] be a node behind. Apple says it is buying chips from that fab, which makes sense because apple’s product mix always includes products that are a node behind.
I wonder if the reason for this is that TSMC wants to keep its most advance stuff at home (understandable), or that demand for the most advanced chips isn't enough to add their production at this plant.
 

Cmaier

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I wonder if the reason for this is that TSMC wants to keep its most advance stuff at home (understandable), or that demand for the most advanced chips isn't enough to add their production at this plant.
I think it may be more prosaic. It takes time to perfect a process in the production fab, even if you’ve proven it can work. Intel used to have a fab or two where they’d work on getting the processes working and the yields up, and only moving it to other fabs once they’d gotten it running perfectly. TSMC is not set up right now to simultaneously roll out something new on two continents.
 

mr_roboto

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Yeah, Intel has an intense focus on multi-site rollout of new manufacturing technologies, complete with a name ("Copy Exactly!"). This article's from a while back but gives the flavor.


They need to tightly control things which aren't totally obvious. For example, the article mentions lighting systems. Intel tries to make the spectrum and intensity of ambient light the same for each machine type for each site.

Every item like that in Intel's "Copy Exactly!" cookbook is probably a lesson learned from some past problem ramping up a process at a new site. For companies relatively new to this, like TSMC, there's going to be a learning curve.
 
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