TSMC plans to make bleeding-edge chips in USA: next-gen A16 (1.6nm) fab in Arizona by 2030

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TSMC at one point wouldn't make any of its advanced chips on US soil, but appears that this could be changing... with the Taiwan giant to make bleeding-edge (A16) 1.6nm chips in Arizona.

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Now that President Trump is in office, TSMC's ambitions in the US can grow exponentially and have advanced semiconductor production in the United States. TSMC VP for Global Policy, Peter Cleveland, recently said that TSMC plans to produce chips at its upcoming third semiconductor fab soon under construction in Arizona, to sustain the United States' AI leadership.

TSMC has invested $65 billion into its Arizona semiconductor fabs so far, with plans to have 3 facilities in total, with the first fab responsible for making 4nm chips according to reports. TSMC plans to make higher-end chips including 3nm, 2nm, and possibly its bleeding-edge A16 (1.6nm) chips.

• Read more: Taiwan worried TSMC-Trump deal will lose its chip dominance
• Read more: TSMC chairman: US fabs fully booked into 2027, new lines already reserved
• Read more: President Trump: TSMC will be investing another $100 billion into US operations
• Read more: TSMC: mass production of A16 process tech in 2H 2026 in Taiwan, new Arizona fab in 2028

The last we heard the Taiwanese government blocked TSMC from making cutting-edge chips in the US as it would be considered a "tech transfer". However, on March 3, TSMC announced with President Trump it would be investing another $100 billion into its Arizona semiconductor operations over the coming years to build 3 more high-end semiconductor fabs, 2 new IC assembly plans, and an R&D center, bringing its total investments in Arizona to a hefty $165 billion.

TSMC VP Peter Cleveland said: "We have not started to break ground on our third wafer fab in Phoenix. We would like to start next week. We're going to build those (high-end chips) in Phoenix to sustain the U.S.'s AI leadership"