Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, said on Monday that the company is planning to produce chips with advanced 3-nanometer technology at its new factory in Arizona, according to TechCrunch.
But according to Chang, the plans are not completely finalized yet, Reuters reports. Currently, the factory is still under construction but it has plans to begin production in 2024.
TSMC Will Be Putting 3-Nanometer, 5-Nanometer Plants in Arizona
TSMC supplies Apple with chips for its products. It's also one of the largest contract chipmakers in the world. Currently, the company is constructing a $12 billion plant in Arizona.
There are also discussions about whether the next factory should build the more advanced 3-nanometer chips instead of the slower, less-efficient 5-nanometer chips.
According to TSMC, the 3-nanometer technology, which is also called N3, will be a full node stride from its 5-nanometer technology.
It is said to offer up to 70% logic density gain and up to 15% speed improvement at the same power. Moreover, when compared to its predecessor, it offers up to 30% power reduction at the same speed.
Speaking to the reporters in Taipei after returning from the APEC summit in Thailand, Chang said that they will be putting up the 3-nanometre plant at the same Arizona site as the 5-nanometre plant.
According to him, when it comes to 3-nanometer chips, TSMC already has a plan but it has not been completely finalized yet.
He added that it has almost been finalized to be in the same Arizona site, saying that "5-nanometer is phase one while 3-nanometer is phase 2."
Chang is already retired from TSMC but he remains influential in the company and in the chip industry in general.
Read Also: TSMC Claims 'Excessive Chip Inventory' Amidst Escalating Global Chip Scarcity
Apple CEO Says the Company Plans to Buy Chips From an Arizona Factory
The partnership between TSMC and Apple has been successful for the longest time. The Taiwan chipmaker has been supplying the Cupertino company with chips for its products.
Thus, a question arises whether TSMC's Arizona factory producing 3-nanometer chips will likely benefit Apple.
According to Engadget, in a meeting with local engineering and retail employees in Germany, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company made a decision to buy chips from a factory in Arizona.
Cook, however, did not specify which factory in Arizona he is pertaining to. Intel, another chipmaker, also has plans to build a plant in the said US state.
But given the long history of partnership between the Taiwan chipmaker and the Cupertino company, it is safe to assume that Cook is pertaining to TSMC.
However, based on the report of 5to5Mac, Bloomberg says that it is unlikely that the TSMC's factory in Arizona will be making Apple's processors anytime soon.
The report says that the company's statement of buying chips from the Arizona factory is just a PR stunt.
But now that Chang stated that TSMC has plans to make 3-nanometer chips in its Arizona factory, it validated Cook's statement that Apple will soon source out its chips from the US.
The Cupertino company plans to use the 3-nanometer technology in the A17 Bionic chip for the upcoming iPhone 15 as well as for the M2 chips of its next generation of Macbooks.
Related Article: Apple Finally Accepts TSMC Chip Price Increase - Will it be for iPhone 15?
