Industry TSMC’s Arizona Fabs Are So Overbooked That Customers Are Already Reserving Capacity That Hasn’t Even Been Built Yet Muhammad Zuhair • at EDT Add on Google Image NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD. A report by Taiwan Economic Daily reveals that demand for homegrown semiconductors has reached new heights, to the point that fabless customers are looking to pre-book capacity that doesn't yet exist. The report mentions that Fab 4, which is expected to scale up to 2nm or the A16 process, is now entirely booked, despite the production timeline set for the end of the decade. Related Story TSMC’s Arizona Plant Finally Turns a Profit After Four Years of Struggle, But Money Was Never the Real Goal Industry observers note that major US manufacturers such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm are increasing their demand for backup production in other locations due to geopolitical factors. TSMC's steady expansion of its overseas plants, especially in the United States, can reassure its American customers. - Taiwan Economic Daily The idea with this report is that interest in US chip production has been growing significantly over the past few quarters, and we know that customers like NVIDIA and AMD are already having their silicon fabbed at the first Arizona plant. At the same time, geopolitical constraints have brought in great interest into TSMC's US operations, which is why all of the major fabless firms are looking to get access to TSMC's Arizona production as soon as possible, but even then, the capacity is limited to just a few customers, likely NVIDIA, AMD, and Apple. Taiwan's total investment in the US semiconductor industry is intended to scale up to half a trillion dollars, and this also includes other suppliers like Foxconn and Quanta setting up their manufacturing units. However, for TSMC, it has become an immediate priority to boost the company's expansion plans in the US, as customers seek a 'safer option' for their foundry orders amid geopolitical troubles, and Taiwan isn't one of them. This is one of the reasons why it is expected that by 2028, more than 20% of TSMC's total chip output will come from overseas facilities. Image Intel and Samsung Foundry, and while the latter has been successful in attracting attention from NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple, Intel still has a long way to go. For fabless customers, diverting production away from TSMC isn't just a risky bet; it also imposes several constraints, including changing product architectures. At the same time, they will have to find a fine line between not getting their silicon produced and incurring the overhead of switching away from TSMC. Follow on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds. Further Reading Big Tech Now Sees Relying Solely on Taiwan For Their Chip Needs as a ‘Death Trap’, With Hidden Economic Time Bombs The Latest US-Taiwan Trade Agreement Boosts Investment Climate for America’s Chip Supply Chain, Protecting TSMC & Others From Tariff Risks TSMC Reportedly Spared From U.S. Tariffs After Mega-Investments in Arizona; Chip Giant to Exempt “Big Tech” Customers NVIDIA CEO Pushes Back on “Shift” Narrative, Saying the U.S. Chip Production Target Requires TSMC to Add More Capacity, Rather Than Abandoning Taiwan Read all on TSMC’s Arizona Fabs Are So Overbooked That Customers Are Already Reserving Capacity That Hasn’t Even Been Built Yet
