TSMC on Tuesday (6th) increased its investment in a new plant in Arizona to US$40 billion. Tae Kim, a contributor to Barron’s, believes that this still cannot solve the problem of the US semiconductor supply chain.
On Tuesday (6th), TSMC held the “First tool-in” ceremony (onboard ceremony) for the 5nm plant in Arizona, USA.
U.S. President Joe Biden went to the ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate TSMC bringing the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing process back to the United States. TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou, Apple CEO Tim Cook, AMD president and CEO Su Zifeng, NVIDIA founder Technology leaders such as Renxun Huang, CEO of Micron, and Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron, all attended this event.
In his speech on Tuesday, Biden announced that “American manufacturing is back” and that the Arizona plant will produce the most advanced semiconductor chips on the face of the earth. Earlier, TSMC announced that the second phase of the Arizona fab will begin construction, which will increase investment in Arizona from $12 billion to $40 billion, and is expected to start producing 3-nanometer process technology in 2026.
Zhang Zhongmou revealed in his speech: “When I founded TSMC in 1987, I had a dream. It may be due to my background. I originally wanted to set up in the United States, but then encountered cost problems, talent problems and cultural problems, and finally became a nightmare. .. With the change of time and space environment, today’s conditions are suitable for TSMC’s development in the United States.」
Despite the hype surrounding news of TSMC’s increased investment by senior U.S. officials and technology leaders, Tae Kim, a contributor to Barron’s, noted on Tuesday that it is not a panacea for the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.
According to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association and Boston Consulting Group, Taiwan accounts for more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing, and most of the production capacity comes from TSMC. JPMorgan Chase expects that when the new Arizona plant goes into production in 2024, it will be more advanced than Taiwan’s most advanced The manufacturing process is one or two generations behind.
Taiwan Economic Minister Wang Meihua also mentioned that TSMC’s most advanced manufacturing process will definitely “stay in Taiwan”. At present, planning for 1nm has already begun, and the so-called “de-Taiwanization” is impossible.
In other words, Kim predicts that chips for Apple’s newest iPhone in 2026 will not come from the Arizona plant, which is more likely to produce chips for legacy products such as previous-generation iPhones or iPads.
Chris Miller, author of “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology,” said on Nov. 23 that the U.S. government “still underestimates” Taiwan’s potential Significant risk of catastrophic consequences.
Kim said that although TSMC is making progress in setting up a factory in the United States to alleviate some political pressure, advanced process chip manufacturing will still be dominated by Taiwan, and the US semiconductor supply chain still faces geopolitical risks such as the US, China and Taiwan.
TSMC ADR (TSM-US) fell 2.52% to US$79.56 per share on Tuesday, with a discount or premium of 1.98% and a conversion price of 487.46 yuan.