La première usine américaine prête à fabriquer les puce d'Apple pour une production en masse - Nikkei

A new US factory for mass-producing A-series chips for Apple devices is expected to start this quarter, according to a new report.

This implies that TSMC's production tests have already begun, with Apple reportedly in the final phase of verifying chips produced in Arizona...

Apple Chip Manufacturing in America

Apple announced its 'Made in America' chip project two years ago, with this new development praised as one of the success stories of the US CHIPS Act. It is a government assistance program aimed at freeing the US from dependence on China for advanced chip suppliers and creating jobs for American workers.

The initiative will see a series of TSMC chip fabrication plants built in Arizona, with part of the production reserved for Apple chips for older devices.

Serial production was originally planned to start in 2024, but the project fell behind schedule, pushing production into this year. Production of smaller processors at 2 nm has been postponed until 2028.

There were complaints that the first factory would be unnecessary because production should be returned to Taiwan for a 'conditioning' process consisting of encapsulating different printed circuits on a single chip. Later, Apple announced it would commission another US-based factory for conditioning chips.

A controversy surrounds TSMC's recruitment for the factories, with many workers hired from Taiwan instead of being recruited in the US. The company initially declared this was a temporary measure during the construction phase, but this was questioned when the situation had not changed last year. A legal action accuses the company of "anti-American discrimination".

Almost Ready for Large-Scale Production at First US Factory

A short Japanese report indicates that production test phases have already been completed and large-scale production is about to begin.

Apple is in the final phase of verifying its first cutting-edge chips manufactured in America since the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co project in Arizona. The first batch of commercially mass-produced chips is expected this quarter after quality control processes are completed, according to those informed on the subject.

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