TSMC receives $11.6 billion from US government, plans 2nm nanosheets made in the USA by 2030

The US government has just unlocked a further $11.6 billion in funding to TSMC for its leading-edge chip-making fabs on United States soil.

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The Biden administration announced it's signed a preliminary memorandum of terms with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) that will include $6.6 billion in funding for new chip manufacturing plants. The US Department of Commerce has proposed $5 billion in loans to help set up the plants with TSMC.

TSMC will now setup three new leading-edge chip-making fabs in the US, with two of them known about -- but the third new chip plant will be dedicated to making chips with 2nm or more advanced technologies. TSMC has had its US-based fab plants under construction for years now, with the company teasing it will enter high-volume production in the first half of 2025 at its first plant in Arizona.

TSMC will make 2nm nanosheet chips at its second site in the US, which the company announced today. This will bring TSMC's US-based operations base at par with its Taiwan-based facilities. The new third plant making 2nm or smaller chips in the US will start by the end of the decade (2030).

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• Read more: TSMC releases two new renderings of its Arizona, USA office building
• Read more: TSMC sets up Arizona, USA subsidiary with $3.5 billion in capital
• Read more: Taiwan says TSMC's engineers in the US are 'babies' for leaving Taiwan

TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu said in the press release: "The CHIPS and Science Act provides TSMC the opportunity to make this unprecedented investment and to offer our foundry service of the most advanced manufacturing technologies in the United States. Our U.S. operations allow us to better support our U.S. customers, which include several of the world's leading technology companies. Our U.S. operations will also expand our capability to trailblaze future advancements in semiconductor technology".

TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei, added: "We are honored to support our customers who have been pioneers in mobile, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, whether in chip design, hardware systems or software, algorithms, and large language models. They are the innovators driving demand for the most advanced silicon that TSMC can provide. As their foundry partner, we will help them unleash their innovations by increasing capacity for leading-edge technology through TSMC Arizona. We are thrilled by the progress of our Arizona site to date and are committed to its long-term success".

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Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said: "We congratulate TSMC for its historic investment and applaud the Commerce Department for its support. TSMC has been a long-standing partner of NVIDIA since we invented the GPU and accelerated computing, and our ongoing innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) would not have been possible without them. We are excited to continue our partnership with TSMC as it brings cutting-edge facilities to Arizona".

AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su, said: "Today's announcement highlights the strong commitment from Secretary Raimondo and the entire administration to ensure the U.S. plays a central role creating a more geographically diverse and resilient semiconductor supply chain. TSMC has a long track record of providing the leading-edge manufacturing capabilities that have enabled AMD to focus on what we do best, designing high-performance chips that change the world. We are committed to our partnership with TSMC and look forward to building our most advanced chips in U.S."

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Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "TSMC is at the leading edge of advanced semiconductor technology - and when that expertise is paired with the ingenuity of American workers, incredible things are possible. We are proud to play a key part in the expansion of TSMC's U.S. production, and we'll continue to invest in America and support a new era of American advanced manufacturing".