TSMC Delays Arizona Facility "Fab 21" Opening to January 2025

[AleksandarK]

TSMC has reportedly postponed the opening ceremony of its Arizona Fab 21 facility, initially planned for December 6, amidst the changing US political landscape. The ceremony is now expected to take place after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in early 2025, showing that the chipmaker is taking a cautious approach to geopolitical shifts. The delay comes as TSMC finds itself at the intersection of global semiconductor politics. The company has invested heavily in its Arizona operations (estimated at $65 billion total), with Wang Yinglang, deputy general manager of wafer factory operations, leading the project. Despite initial skepticism, Wang's team has maintained an ambitious timeline, with mass production scheduled to begin in the first half of 2025.

Rumors also suggest that TSMC's decision stems from broader concerns about the incoming administration's semiconductor policies. However, TSMC maintains a strong position due to its unmatched technological capabilities, particularly in advanced manufacturing processes, which competitors like Intel and Samsung struggled to achieve. The Arizona facility represents a crucial piece of TSMC's global expansion strategy, which includes new factories in Japan and Germany. While the company faces challenges, including labor issues and rising costs in the US, its strategic importance to the global semiconductor supply chain remains unchanged. The only thing that is changing is the timeline of the opening ceremony, while high-volume production stays on track.



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[mcloughj]

ah, in fariness, you never get much done over the christmas holliers.

 

[Daven]

Elections have consequences. Very, very few understand that.

 

[Vincero]

Hmmm... Trump is quite transactional... TSMC angling for some tariff exemption maybe before it sets the price for the fab at the same or higher rate than imports+tariff??

I sure hope so

 

[TechBuyingHavoc]

ah, in fariness, you never get much done over the christmas holliers.

I don't buy that as the reason here. If TSMC is truly behind schedule and the holidays won't get much work done, they wouldn't just delay to January 2025. That is what, 3 more weeks?

This is clearly a PR move to make Trump happy. Better to delay the opening by a month and open the fab under Trump and give him the credit for better "vibes" or whatever appeases his ego.

I don't blame TSMC, that is a good business move.

 

[Quicks]

They have bigger problems coming with staff morale, language barrier and favouritism.

 

[csendesmark]

Personally I don't get why is 90+% of chip production concentrated in just one place!
One bad earthquake could break all the production.
Remember what happened with HDD prices when Thailand been hit with that awful flood. Link
Hope Europe get's it's factory soon!

 

[Vincero]

Personally I don't get why is 90+% of chip production concentrated in just one place!
One bad earthquake could break all the production.
Remember what happened with HDD prices when Thailand been hit with that awful flood. Link
Hope Europe get's it's factory soon!

90%+ of all chip production isn't in Taiwan... but it does account for roughly 50% on its own and with a major part of that being ICs that are high-end / leading-edge and not easy to find equivalent production elsewhere... so yeah, that's not a great thing.

 

[csendesmark]

90%+ of all chip production isn't in Taiwan... but it does account for roughly 50% on its own and with a major part of that being ICs that are high-end / leading-edge and not easy to find equivalent production elsewhere... so yeah, that's not a great thing.

Well, I see your point
My point is: 90% of advanced chips are being made there.
Which is 100% what I generally interested

 

[Dragokar]

Personally I don't get why is 90+% of chip production concentrated in just one place!
One bad earthquake could break all the production.
Remember what happened with HDD prices when Thailand been hit with that awful flood. Link
Hope Europe get's it's factory soon!

Well it is also not that smart to build such facility where you don't have really enough water........but don't worry just pipeline it from somewhere else

 

[csendesmark]

Well it is also not that smart to build such facility where you don't have really enough water........but don't worry just pipeline it from somewhere else

True,
Meanwhile, the Americans building their shiny new factory in one of their driest state.
If they can manage there, we could manage it in Europe.

 

[Dragokar]

True,
Meanwhile, the Americans building their shiny new factory in one of their driest state.
If they can manage there, we could manage it in Europe.

Well we on the other hand have so many rules for everything that fast needed things only work in bad circumstances like war or elections xD

 

[thesmokingman]

They're taking a page out of the Intel playbook. After just bragging about how great the plant is only to delay. Albeit its not a big delay...

 

[Vincero]

They're taking a page out of the Intel playbook. After just bragging about how great the plant is only to delay. Albeit its not a big delay...

If we see a report "Soon to be announced: TSMC 3nm++", I may think you're on to something

 

[Fourstaff]

Best to take photo pic with incoming management, he might cut a sweet deal in return.

 

[R0H1T]

Well we on the other hand have so many rules for everything that fast needed things only work in bad circumstances like war or elections xD

Which is not a bad thing at all ~ chasing returns/profits all the time, every effin time will be the ruin of mankind. The only caveat being the bribes that are paid to overlook some of the more obvious issues around environment/finances et al, basically negating the reason why such regulations are there in the first place!

 

[thesmokingman]

If we see a report "Soon to be announced: TSMC 3nm++", I may think you're on to something

It's especially fitting cuz Biden on his last legs just pushed to lock in another 6.6B in funny money for TSMC. And right after they delay... lol.

On a side note, Biden needs to stop printing money in general but at these ridiculous sums, holy carp.

 

[3valatzy]

If we see a report "Soon to be announced: TSMC 3nm++", I may think you're on to something

At some point, which could have been already reached, it won't be anymore economically reasonable to make new chips using the classic lithography.
Yes, you can make larger wafers and 3D stacks, but you can't fight the increasing power consumption and costs.
So, yeah, it is a dead end, and a new plant in Arizona is a strategic mistake.
Of course, you will be able to make chips for vacuum cleaners, ovens and other stupid things.

We can't make transistors any smaller, is this the end of Moore's law?

What does the end of Moore's law imply for our technological progress?

interestingengineering.com