TSMC Might Have Secured Taiwan’s Approval To Make Advanced 2nm Chips In US

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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) might have secured the Taiwanese government’s approval to set up 2-nanometer chip production facilities in the US. TSMC has built its latest chip manufacturing facilities in Arizona after securing subsidies under the CHIPS and Science Act. According to the site’s production timeline, which consists of three fabrication plants, 2-nanometer and other advanced technologies, will be manufactured at Fab 3 by the end of the decade.
Now, a fresh report from the Taiwanese publication UDN suggests that the government has left the decision to produce 2-nanometer and advanced chip products abroad to Taiwanese firms in a significant shift in policy, which had earlier required Taiwanese companies to be one or two generations ahead with their domestic production capabilities.
TSMC Might Have Been Given The Go-Ahead To Produce 2-nanometer Products In US, Suggests Report
The latest remarks about TSMC’s ability to produce 2-nanometer chips in America, and particularly in the Arizona site, were made by Taiwan’s minister of economic affairs J.W. Kuo, reports UDN. Kuo spoke last week and outlined the high costs of installing advanced chip manufacturing facilities overseas. According to him, if TSMC decides to produce 2-nanometer chips in America, then it might have to invest as much as $30 billion to procure the necessary equipment and establish other facilities.
He believes that the high costs would make TSMC cautious when considering an overseas production expansion. The minister was also asked whether the policy that requires TSMC’s production in Taiwan to be one or two generations ahead of its overseas production applies to the firm’s Arizona plant. In response, Wu replied that times had changed and that it was up to TSMC to decide whether to set up advanced production facilities abroad.
Minister Kuo’s latest comments are not the first time Taiwanese politicians have discussed the overseas manufacturing of TSMC’s 2-nanometer chips. Back in November, Taiwan’s Minister of the Science and Technology Council Wu Cheng-wen commented that TSMC might be able to start manufacturing 2-nanometer chips in the US after 2025. The firm is expected to enter 2-nanometer mass production later this year, and rumors suggest that trial production at its Kaohsiung facility might occur sooner than expected.
Wu had outlined that as TSMC was slated to kick off mass production this year, his government would address the question of whether it could start making the chips in the US after mass production commenced.
The science and technology minister had also dismissed reports that the island’s global lead in semiconductor manufacturing technology might be diminished if TSMC were to start making advanced chips abroad. He outlined that even if production starts overseas, all of TSMC’s research and development facilities would nevertheless remain in Taiwan.
Wu also stressed that even though TSMC made the most advanced chips in the world, America was nevertheless among the global leaders in the industry. According to him, this is because chip design technologies and intellectual property are still concentrated in the US and provide it with a global lead.