Apple's new Houston, USA factory will make AI servers powered by high-end M5 processor in 2026

Apple's huge new Houston, USA factory will start making AI servers powered by its next-gen in-house M5 processor after news hit that the company would be spending over $500 billion in the United States over the next 4 years.

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In a new post on X by industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo, we're learning that Apple's new Houston factory will begin making AI servers for Apple Intelligence Private Cloud Compute (PCC) in 2026. In previous Apple M5 predictions, Kuo said: "Apple's PCC infrastructure build-out will accelerate after the mass production of the high-end M5 chips".

Apple will reportedly kick off mass production of its high-end M5 chip in 2H 2026, which aligns perfectly with Apple's timeline for expanding its AI server capacity.

Apple M5 series processor details: The new Apple M5 series chips will use TSMC's new advanced N3P process node, which entered the prototyping phases in the last few months of 2024, with the new M5, M5 Pro/Max, and M5 Ultra processors hitting mass production in 1H25, 2H25, and 2026, respectively.

• Read more: Apple's new M5 chip enters mass production: for iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Vision Pro successor

The new M5 Pro, M5 Max and M5 Ultra will use server-grade SoIC packaging, with Apple using 2.5D packaging called SoIC-mH (molding horizontal) to improve production yields and thermal performance, with the CPU and GPU featuring separate designs.

Kuo explained: "In 2026, Apple's new Houston, USA factory will begin producing AI servers powered by the high-end M5 processor. Apple announced on Feb 24, 2025, that it will invest over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, including opening a Houston factory in 2026 to build AI servers for Apple Intelligence Private Cloud Compute (PCC)".

The post on X continued: "In my earlier Apple M5 predictions, I wrote,"Apple's PCC infrastructure build-out will accelerate after the mass production of the high-end M5 chips."The mass production of the high-end M5 chip is slated for 2H25-2026, aligning with Apple's timeline for expanding AI server capacity".