[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, is in discussions with AI leader NVIDIA to produce its latest AI chip, "Blackwell," at a facility in Arizona, USA, according to reports from major foreign news outlets on December 5, citing sources.

According to the sources, TSMC is preparing to begin production of Blackwell at its Arizona plant in early 2025. Blackwell, a new semiconductor unveiled by NVIDIA in March, is gaining attention as the next big revenue driver for the company, especially with the AI acceleration trend. Until now, it has been produced at TSMC's facilities in Taiwan.

Earlier, in April, TSMC announced plans to expand its U.S. investments to $65 billion, including the construction of a third semiconductor production plant in Arizona by 2030, which will use 2nm processes (1nm = 1 billionth of a meter). The first plant is nearing completion and is expected to start semiconductor production in 2025. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce has confirmed $6.6 billion in subsidies under the CHIPS Act to support this effort.

However, the sources pointed out that TSMC's Arizona plant will not be able to support the advanced packaging process called "Chip on Wafer on Substrate" (CoWoS), which is critical for producing Blackwell chips. As a result, while wafer manufacturing for Blackwell may be carried out in Arizona, testing and packaging processes will likely still take place in Taiwan.

Furthermore, the sources noted that TSMC's Arizona plant has already secured Apple and AMD as customers. Both companies have reportedly declined to comment when asked by foreign news outlets whether they have signed contracts with TSMC.

 

 

 

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