Apple Prepares to Begin Sourcing US-Made Chips from Arizona to Reduce Reliance on Asian Production

Apple will soon begin to produce chips that are made in the United States, specifically in Arizona, as the company reduces its production reliance on Asian countries. Apple's exclusive chip-manufacturing partner is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which will be the same manufacturer that will run the Arizona factory once it is opened for operations.

US-Made Chips

For the company to reduce its reliance on Asian production, Apple is currently in the preparation stage as they produce and source chips that will be made in Arizona, United States. Based on a report from Reuters, Chief Executive Tim Cook disclosed the information during a meeting in Germany with retail and local engineering employees, as a part of his tour in Europe. The CEO also stated that the company is open to expanding its chip supply in Europe factories soon.

Cook said, "We've already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in '24, so we've got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less." Aside from the employees, Apple Services Chief Eddy Cue and Head of Retail and Human Resources Deirdre O'Brien were also present at the meeting.

Apple is currently sourcing its chips from factories in Taiwan. According to Bloomberg, the Arizona facility will also be ran by its exclusive chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and is expected to start production in 2024. TSMC also eyes for a second facility in the United States as they broaden their production in the country because of 'strong customer demand'.

Aside from TSMC, Intel will also build plants in Arizona and is expected to open in early 2024, as reported by CNBC. This was Apple's former manufacturer of chips, which lasted for years. But since then, Apple swapped out processors in Macs from this company to make way for their own components.

Chips in the United States

As part of the Chips and Science Act, the US government will be giving incentives worth $50 billion to encourage semiconductors on expanding their services here in the country. Given these incentives, TSMC is still skeptical regarding the company's state and what it can achieve in the US.

Last August, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and met the Chairs of TSMC Morris Chang and Mark Liu. As per Apple Insider, the company believes that these efforts from the government to rebuild chip manufacturing are going nowhere, given that the United States and China are in the middle o a tech cold war.

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Written by Inno Flores