Visiting TSMC's new U.S. factory, Japanese media: The battle for semiconductor dominance has just begun
According to relevant news, in the context of the increasingly intensified competition between China and the United States for semiconductor dominance, TSMC's US layout is ushering in a new situation. According to the Nikkei Chinese website, the reporter visited the construction site of TSMC’s new U.S. factory, observed the construction of the new factory and the status of talent reserves, and tried to deeply analyze the significance of the new factory for U.S. manufacturing and TSMC.
According to the reporter’s observation, starting from the city center of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, and driving along the highway for about 30 minutes, TSMC’s new base for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors is in the wilderness, with an area of 4.5 square kilometers, equivalent to 95 Tokyo Dome stadium. Around the silhouetted factory buildings, trucks transporting materials bustled to and fro.
It is understood that the U.S. government has devoted itself to the factory since the era of former President Trump. The factory is targeting 2024 production of 4nm chips for smartphones and server CPUs. On the other hand, TSMC's on-board ceremony on December 6 also confirmed that the factory will cut into 3nm in the future.
However, according to the latest reports, the technology introduced by TSMC's new plant in Arizona will be one generation slower than the most advanced process in Taiwan, China, that is, the US plant will use the N-1 process for production. In addition, the technology website 9to5Mac pointed out that this means that TSMC's new US plant may never produce Apple's A-series and M-series chips.
The United States has been tightening controls on China in the field of semiconductors. While weakening the momentum of China, which is striving to improve its own technology, the strategy of consolidating its own supply chain has not changed after the regime change. Private enterprises also expressed their expectations for the new factory. Apple CEO Cook and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other heads of American customers also attended the ceremony.
In the near future, there will be an inflow of more stationed personnel and newly hired technical personnel in the new base, and the construction of surrounding residences is accelerating. The reporter drove 10 minutes from TSMC's new base to the collective housing, and met a male employee of TSMC. According to interviews, in order to prepare for production, he was sent by the company from Taiwan, China to work here. According to TSMC's forecast, the two factories producing 4nm and 3nm products will add up to 4,500 employees. The number of employees employed by suppliers such as components and devices is expected to reach 13,000.
However, TSMC is not the only company making large-scale investments locally. Driving south from downtown Phoenix, you'll see another site with multiple cranes under construction, two new Intel factories in Arizona. Like TSMC, these factories are under construction with the goal of starting production in 2024. CEO Kissinger only left a message of congratulations on Twitter when TSMC held the equipment move-in ceremony, but the two companies are bound to compete for semiconductor talents.
Since taxes and living expenses in this area are lower than those in Silicon Valley and other areas, IT companies continue to settle in, and related companies may be involved in a wider competition for talents. But in fact, Phoenix's transportation, public facilities and other expenses exceed the US average, especially housing.
The report believes that the success or failure of the US base is not only related to the direction of Sino-US dominance, but may also affect TSMC's future strategy. The scenery of the "Silicon Desert" will also change at the same time.
