Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June.
In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well.
TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the more sophisticated 3nm, 2nm and A16 processes in 2028.
Photo: CNA
The third fab is planned to start production of chips using 2nm or more advanced processes, with production beginning by the end of the decade, TSMC said last year.
However, Chinese-language Economic Daily News at the weekend reported that TSMC had decided to move the schedule of the third fab to one to 1.5 years earlier due to pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration amid his “made in America” push.
The report said that TSMC would likely break ground on the third fab in June and invite US government officials to a ceremony to demonstrate the chipmaker’s dedication to expanding its investments in the US.
The trial run of the third fab could start in early 2027 and begin commercial production in 2028, the report said.
The discussions on the third fab schedule did not take place during the company’s latest board meeting in Arizona on Wednesday last week, the report said.
It was the first time TSMC had held a board meeting in the US, and it took place amid Trump’s recent threats to hit Taiwanese semiconductors with huge tariffs.
However, the company board did not discuss new investments during its latest meeting, contrary to market expectations.
The report also said TSMC has considered building a more advanced 3D chip-on-wafer-on-substrate integrated circuit packaging plant in the US.
TSMC has also been the subject of other rumors, including whether it would acquire a stake in US chipmaker Intel Corp’s fab operations through a technology transfer or cash injection.
Market analysts said that technology transfers could lead to TSMC’s technological secrets being leaked.