Report: Apple chip manufacturer to build factory in Arizona

Taiwan Semiconductor, a leading manufacturer of silicon chips with contract clients including Apple and Qualcomm, is set to announce plans to open a new factory in Arizona, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. 

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the WSJ reports that the decision was made at a recent board meeting in Taiwan, and that the official announcement could come as soon as tomorrow. The factory could begin producing chips by 2023, those sources add.

TSMC’s expansion follows calls from President Trump for increased manufacturing in the US, and would match similar forays from competitors like Samsung and Intel, each of which manufactures chips of their own out of facilities located in the American southwest. Foxconn recently entered the US with a factory of its own in Wisconsin, though with far fewer jobs than initially promised.

Like those facilities, the TSMC factory would likely represent a multi-billion dollar investment, though no specific costs are known at this time. Neither TSMC nor Apple could immediately be reached for comment.