TSMC Arizona Starts Mass Production: Apple & AMD Chip Orders Secured!

According to relevant reports, TSMC's Arizona wafer fabrication facility is set to manufacture not only Apple's A16 processors for the iPhone but also the SiP processors required for the Apple Watch Series 9 and AMD's Ryzen 9000 series CPUs.

Currently, the Arizona plant's Phase 1A production line is gearing up for mass production using the 5nm N4 process. The A16 processor previously adopted TSMC's 5nm process, while the Apple Watch Series 9's processor, which was originally manufactured in TSMC's Taiwan facilities, utilizes the 4nm process. Based on these developments, the rumors about Apple's reliance on the Arizona facility seem plausible.

Additionally, there are reports suggesting that AMD will leverage the same facility for producing high-performance computing (HPC) chips. Industry analyst Tim Culpan noted that these HPC chips are likely part of the Ryzen 9000 series, code-named "Grand Rapids," and production has already commenced. The Ryzen 9000 series was only introduced in 2024, making the transition to TSMC's Arizona facility notably swift.

In terms of production capacity, the Phase 1A line at TSMC's Arizona plant is expected to handle approximately 10,000 wafers per month, which will be evenly allocated among the three mentioned processors. NVIDIA is reportedly also in line for production slots. The Phase 1B production line, currently under construction, will eventually increase the total monthly capacity of the Phase 1 facility to 24,000 wafers. While equipment delays have been noted as potential bottlenecks, these are not expected to cause significant delays in the Phase 1B timeline. The revised completion date for Phase 1B is projected for the first quarter of this year.