Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has started producing advanced 4-nanometer chips in Arizona for U.S. customers, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters, a milestone in the Biden administration's efforts to revive the U.S. semiconductor industry.
In November, the Department of Commerce finalized an allocation of US$6.6 billion to TSMC’s semiconductor production unit in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
"For the first time in our country's history, we are producing leading-edge four-nanometer chips on American soil, by American workers - on par with Taiwan in terms of volume and quality," Raimondo told Reuters in an interview.
"This is a big deal, something that has never been done before, never in our history. A lot of people said it wouldn't be possible," Raimondo said of the previously undisclosed start of production.
TSMC is the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple and Nvidia.
In April this year, TSMC agreed to expand its planned investment by US$25 billion to US$65 billion and build a third wafer fab in Arizona by 2030.