TSMC Arizona Fab Ships First Wafers for NVIDIA, AMD, Apple

According to reports, TSMC has officially commenced chip production at its Arizona facility, delivering its first batches for major tech giants including Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD. Initially launched at the end of last year, the site is focused on manufacturing chips using TSMC's advanced N4 process technology.

Among the first production runs are wafers for NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell AI GPU, based on a customized version of N4 known as 4NP. These chips have already been shipped to Taiwan for advanced packaging using TSMC's proprietary CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) technology. This marks a critical step in the supply chain where unpackaged die are assembled into fully integrated circuits suitable for AI data center deployment.

While the Arizona fab is capable of producing high-performance chips at the 4nm level, final packaging remains centered in Taiwan. TSMC is currently collaborating with U.S.-based Amkor to establish advanced packaging capabilities domestically, though initial production will continue to rely on facilities in Taiwan.

The need for expanded packaging capacity has become a major industry focus, particularly in the AI sector. TSMC aims to ramp its packaging throughput from 75,000 wafers annually in 2023 to 115,000 wafers this year, driven by strong demand for CoWoS L/S packaging technologies. Industry forecasts suggest this capacity may further scale to 150,000 wafers by mid-2025.

Beyond AI GPUs, the Arizona plant is also producing processors for Apple's iPhone lineup and AMD’s fifth-generation EPYC server CPUs. These developments highlight the growing strategic importance of the U.S.-based fab in meeting next-gen computing demands.

Looking ahead, TSMC has announced plans to expand Arizona production to include 3nm and 2nm process nodes, reinforcing its long-term commitment to U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing. Future goals also include completing the entire chip production cycle — from fabrication to packaging — domestically, eliminating the need for offshore assembly.

Additionally, industry momentum continues to grow as other players like Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) explore packaging innovations such as Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW) in partnership with Qualcomm, aiming to diversify and strengthen the global semiconductor supply chain.