TSMC Considers Multibillion-Dollar Texas Campus for AI Chips

Summary

TSMC is considering a Texas campus with multiple semiconductor fabs to expand overseas production of AI chips. Each fab would cost at least $20 billion, and the plan remains preliminary; TSMC declined to comment on market rumors. The decision depends partly on whether the US Congress extends a 35% manufacturing tax credit whose current eligibility requires construction to begin by the end of December. TSMC has already committed $265 billion in Arizona for ten fabs, two packaging plants, and a research center, while North America generated more than 75% of its wafer revenue this year. The company also evaluated Singapore, but not another European site. Its Dresden joint venture, backed by €5 billion in EU state aid within a project exceeding €10 billion, is scheduled to begin production in 2027 and reach full capacity in 2029 at 40,000 wafers per month. Dresden will use 28nm, 22nm, 16nm, and 12nm processes, which are behind the nodes used for AI chips by Nvidia and Apple, and will not manufacture AI chips. A single Texas fab would cost about twice the entire Dresden project. The article says Europe’s 20% global semiconductor-market target for 2030 is unlikely to be met: its share was 9.8% in 2022 and is forecast at 11.7%. TSMC is expected to keep its most advanced research in Taiwan, leaving Europe’s question focused on whether it can attract the next overseas campus.