In the next years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that he will solely buy chips created in the United States
During a business trip to Germany, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, “We have made a decision to buy a factory in Arizona. The Arizona factory will start operating in 2024, so it could be two years earlier. The plans are coming up, so we are also certain to order from Europe.”
Tim Cook did not disclose specifics, but Apple appears that the Arizona factory is being built by Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC. TSMC is Apple’s exclusive provider of Apple Silicon Processors, including the company’s flagship A-Series chips and M-Series CPUs for usage in Mac products.
According to Bloomberg, the Arizona TSMC plant will begin producing 5nm chips in 2024, a generation lower than the technology now employed in Apple devices. Initially, 20,000 5nm chips will be manufactured per month. This will not meet Apple’s high-end 3nm chip production target.
The US government is enticing chipmakers with lucrative incentives to grow chip production in the country. According to the US government’s Chips and Science Act, semiconductor manufacturing in the US will receive more than $50 billion in research and workforce development. Exemption from investment tax of 25% on capital cost of semiconductor and related equipment manufacturing.
Some of Apple’s products are assembled and manufactured in the United States, while the business employs hundreds of engineers in Germany. Due to the US government’s export sanctions against China, as well as the strict anti-Covid policy, Apple is relying more on manufacturing forces outside of China, such as Vietnam and India, in China, where Apple products are primarily manufactured.