TSMC Gets $11.6 Billion in US Grants and Loans for Chip Plants

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the supplier of 90% of world’s super-advanced chips used by Apple, Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm to

power mobile phones and tablet computers, will receive $11.6 billion in grants and loans from the United States government for building its new chip plant in Arizona. Taiwan Semiconductor has pledged 6,000 direct manufacturing jobs as well as over 20,000 construction positions; last month rival Intel also won up to $19.5 billion to expand their fab network in America.

TSMC will use its $11.6 billion grant to construct a new factory in Phoenix, the company announced. It will join two existing plants already established there and is anticipated to start producing advanced chips between 2025-2028. The third fab will use the company’s two-nanometer process technology, an exciting advancement of its production technology. This new design will incorporate a gate-all-around, or GAA, transistor design that encases each core component on all sides to make electricity leakage more difficult and provide backside power delivery, which places wires carrying energy directly beneath transistors rather than above them for increased efficiency.

The CHIPS Act funding from the White House is part of an effort to make US semiconductor manufacturing more competitive in global markets. The federal program seeks to assist US manufacturers produce “world’s most advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and 5G wireless communications systems”, according to a statement issued by President Joe Biden.