First U.S.-Made NVIDIA Blackwell Wafer Rolls Off Line

According to Reuters, NVIDIA announced that TSMC has successfully produced the first wafer of its next-generation Blackwell architecture GPU at its semiconductor fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona.

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang personally visited TSMC's Fab 21 to celebrate this milestone — the first U.S.-made Blackwell wafer entering mass production. During the ceremony, Huang and Y.L. Wang, TSMC's Vice President of Operations, signed the wafer on stage, marking a symbolic moment for America's AI chip manufacturing ambitions.

Since TSMC Fab 21 currently manufactures using the 4nm process, the Blackwell wafers produced here are likely small dies of NVIDIA's B300 GPU core, which was previously mass-produced in Taiwan. As advanced packaging facilities are still under construction in Arizona — including Amkor's upcoming plant — these wafers will be shipped to Taiwan for back-end packaging and assembly before becoming finished Blackwell GPUs.

NVIDIA's press release highlighted that TSMC Arizona will handle production of advanced technologies, including 4nm, 3nm, 2nm, and even A16 process chips — all vital for AI, telecommunications, and high-performance computing (HPC) applications.

TSMC first announced its $12 billion Arizona investment in 2020, beginning construction of its first fab in 2021. The company later expanded its U.S. investment to $65 billion, with three fabs planned in total. The first 4nm fab is now operational, while the second 3nm facility—originally slated for 2026—has been delayed to 2028 but is now reportedly speeding up construction. Combined, these fabs are expected to produce over 600,000 wafers per year, representing an estimated $40 billion in market value.

Recently, TSMC broke ground on its third fab, which will manufacture 2nm and A16 chips, targeted for 2029–2030 mass production. In March, the company further announced an additional $100 billion U.S. investment to build three more fabs, two advanced packaging plants, and a major R&D center — all still in the early planning stage.

During TSMC's Q3 earnings call, CEO C.C. Wei noted that under close collaboration with key U.S. clients and government support, production has officially started at the Arizona facility. He added that TSMC will accelerate technology upgrades to meet surging AI demand and plans to acquire additional land nearby to form a "gigabyte cluster" supporting smartphone, AI, and HPC manufacturing in the region.