TSMC’s Arizona fabs begin supplying advanced chips to AMD and NVIDIA
The US semiconductor industry reached a significant milestone this month as TSMC’s Arizona manufacturing facilities began producing advanced chips for leading American technology companies AMD and NVIDIA. This development is a key step in efforts by the United States to strengthen its domestic semiconductor supply chain, as well as to reduce reliance on overseas manufacturing.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, has invested heavily in its Arizona operations, with three chip fabrication plants, advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center planned for the site. The expansion is supported by federal incentives under the CHIPS Act and reflects ongoing efforts by both the current and previous US administrations to encourage domestic chip production.
AMD and NVIDIA tap Arizona fabs
In mid-April this year, AMD announced that it has achieved validation of its 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPU products, codenamed Turin, at TSMC’s new fabrication facility in Arizona.
Conversely, NVIDIA also revealed that it is now manufacturing its new Blackwell compute engines at TSMC’s Arizona facilities. The company stated that this marks the first time it will produce AI supercomputers in the US, with plans to deliver substantial AI infrastructure domestically over the next several years. NVIDIA is also building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas, with Foxconn in Houston and with Wistron in Dallas. Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months.
TSMC’s role in US’ semiconductor strategy
TSMC’s Arizona fabs are central to US efforts to secure advanced chip manufacturing capabilities. The first fab is already producing 4nm chips, with a second facility scheduled to begin 3nm production in 2028. A third fab, announced in April last year, is planned for 2nm or more advanced process nodes. These facilities are intended to supply chips to major US technology companies, including AMD, NVIDIA, and Apple.
TSMC recently announced plans for a fresh US$100 billion investment in the United States, involving the building of five additional chip facilities in the coming years. This follows news from last year where TSMC announced an expanded US$25 billion to US$65 billion investment in the US, and to add a third Arizona facility by 2030.
While TSMC’s Arizona fabs have reportedly achieved production yields that surpass those of comparable facilities in Taiwan, the project faces construction delays and labor shortages; This new US$100 billion investment plan will require 40,000 construction workers over the next four years, along with researchers and equipment engineers at the fab.
Nevertheless, the expansion is expected to play a central role in the US effort to triple domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity by 2032 and to build a more resilient and comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem.
