Apple’s A16 is being made in Arizona
Apple could benefit from more chip fab availability in the United States in the coming years thanks to a joint venture that will bring TSMC talent to Intel foundries.
The preliminary agreement between the competitors will give TSMC a 20% stake in the combined company, while Intel and other semiconductor companies will own the majority of shares. TSMC will bring talent and manufacturing methods to teach American employees and get the US-based Intel foundries running.
The report comes from The Information and was detailed by MacRumors. Discussions are still underway between Intel and TSMC, but ideally it will mean making more TSMC chips in the United States.
However, regardless of the deal, the process will take some time. Intel’s foundries are filled with equipment that is useless for TSMC’s processes, so that will have to be sold or scrapped. Getting the right equipment, employees trained, and everything running efficiently could be a years-long process.
Apple will likely benefit from the joint venture, eventually, as it is a customer of TSMC’s. The company designs the chips and provides those designs to TSMC, who manufactures them.
The news arrives weeks after Apple committed $500 billion to US manufacturing and TSMC committed $100 billion. Part of that is going to creating foundries in Arizona.
As President Trump’s tariffs rock the markets and create the potential for increased prices across the board, it may be of some relief to hear about these commitments. However, it will take time before TSMC gets the new US-based factories going.
The TSMC foundry already operational in Arizona started making A16 processors in September, 2024. It is expected to hit production quotas in the first half of 2025, but it is still just a small portion of Apple’s chip needs.
For the foreseeable future, as long as the existing tariffs are in place, Apple’s products will be heavily affected. And no matter how much manufacturing and assembly moves to the United States, there will always be some need to import goods for products.
