Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) has started construction of its second semiconductor fab in Arizona, tripling its investment in United States to US$40 billion. Accordingly, the new investment hike is one of the largest investments made by a foreign company in the United States.

The planned second fab will begin production of 3nm process technology in 2026. Hence, two years after the scheduled production commencement of first fab, the N4 process, which is likely in 2024.

TSMC said around 10,000 construction workers are currently working for the two sites. Most importantly, Arizona’s two chip fabs will also create an additional 10,000 high-paying high-tech jobs, including 4,500 direct TSMC jobs.

Accordingly, when completed, TSMC Arizona’s two fabs will manufacture 600,000 wafers per year. The estimated end-product value of this churn is around US$40 billion.

Advanced Semiconductor Equipment

In line with TSMC’s green manufacturing pledge, the company also announced it is planning in stages for an on-site Industrial Water Reclamation plant in Arizona. Hence, when finished, will allow TSMC Arizona site to achieve near zero liquid discharge.

“When complete, TSMC Arizona will be the greenest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States. (TSMC will produce) the most advanced semiconductor process technology in the country, enabling next generation high-performance and low-power computing products for years to come,” said TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu.

In addition, Liu said, “We are thankful for the continual collaboration that has brought us here and are pleased to work with our partners in the United States to serve as a base for semiconductor innovation.”

The announcements came as the company welcomes the first batch of state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing equipment to arrive in TSMC Arizona. Particularly, the event brought together TSMC leaders, customers, suppliers, partners, government officials, and academia leaders.

Most notably, U.S. President Joseph Biden and other ranking government officials graced the event. They joined TSMC Founder Dr. Morris Chang, TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu, and TSMC CEO Dr. CC Wei. Among those who attended the ceremony were Apple CEO Tim Cook, AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su, and NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang.

TSMC’s Historic Milestone

During the ceremony, TSMC revealed six pieces of equipment to move into the fab. Particularly, these equipment came from suppliers Applied Materials, ASM, ASML, Lam Research, KLA, and Tokyo Electron.

“I’m deeply honored that we have been able to gather here to celebrate such a historic milestone for TSMC, which represents our dedication to building a semiconductor ecosystem here in the United States in order to better serve our customers,” said TSMC CEO Dr. CC Wei during the ceremony.

“This project is truly a testament to the Grand Alliance TSMC has formed with customers, suppliers and partners to further our collaboration and unleash innovation.”