This is unambiguously good news.
According to The Hustle, Taiwanese chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is upping its US investment in Arizona from one $12B plant to $40B across two plants.
“This is an incredibly significant moment,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday as he joined President Biden in announcing a critical win for US manufacturing.
The Hustle actually wrote about the Taiwan chip problem back in October.
In short, the world has put all of its eggs in one basket. TSMC is responsible for 92% of global advanced semiconductor production, and its chips are critical components in iPhones, military equipment, cars — you name it. If China were to ever invade Taiwan, we’d see global disruption unlike anything we’ve seen before.
The Trump administration first pushed TSMC to break ground on a $12B fab in Arizona. This year, the Biden administration doubled down on these efforts with the $53B incentive-filled CHIPS and Science Act, and now this.
We may soon be able to look at the back of an Apple product and read, “Designed in California. Made in the USA. At least Partially.”