TSMC sets up Arizona, USA subsidiary with $3.5 billion in capital

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (TSMC) has announced that its board has approved a large investment to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Arizona with $3.5 billion in capital.

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The new plant will be co-financed between TSMC, the state of Arizona, and the US federal government. TSMC explained in a statement: "Approved an investment to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Arizona, United States of America, with a paid-in capital of US$3.5 billion (approximately NT$99.75 billion)".

TSMC announced plans in May 2020 of building a $12 billion new factory in Arizona, which was a positive sign for the USA thanks to President Trump. The Trump administration is trying to get global tech supply chains out of the grips of China, and onto US soil. This is a solid move for TSMC and the United States going forward, as well as the state of Arizona.

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• TSMC accelerated R&D into 2nm: It was only back in June 2020 that it was reported TSMC had accelerated plans for its 2nm node, powered by a gigantic $16 billion slush fund for R&D into future nodes. The investment required into next-gen EUV lithography machines required for 2nm is expensive. But it seems TSMC is forging forward very quickly into the world of 2nm.
• TSMC began working on 2nm in June 2019: I reported back in June 2019 that TSMC had kick started R&D work on its next-gen 2nm node, where at the time it was reported the new 2nm fab plant would be located in Hsichu, Taiwan. It seems those reports were correct.

The company recently posted job listings in the US for its new wafer fab plant, looking for R&D engineers, process integration engineers, module process engineers, module equipment engineers, facility mechanical engineers and equipment automation software engineers.

TSMC has said that the Arizona factory will begin construction in 2021, where it is expecting to begin pumping chips out sometime in 2024.