%Apple () chief executive officer Tim Cook says that the consumer electronics giant plans to buy %Microchips built at two new manufacturing plants in Arizona run by %TaiwanSemiconductor ().
The new chip factories are being built in the Arizona dessert by Taiwan Semiconductor at a cost of $40 billion U.S.
Taiwan Semiconductor is the biggest microchip foundry in the world with over half of the global market share. The company is also known for producing the most advanced processors, including the chips found in the latest iPhones, iPads, and MacBook computers.
The new chip plants in Arizona will be capable of manufacturing 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer chips that are used for advanced processors such as Apple’s A-series and M-series.
Cook tweeted that Apple will be the new Arizona manufacturing plants’ “largest customer.”
Taiwan Semiconductor currently does most of its manufacturing in its home market of Taiwan, raising concerns in the U.S. and Europe about security of supply in the event of a Chinese invasion of the country.
Tech companies such as Apple design their own microchips but outsource the manufacturing to companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor.
Apple has run into manufacturing problems in recent months at its production facilities in China, which have been hampered by ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns and clashes between workers and police over quarantine measures.
Tim Cook has talked publicly about his desire to move Apple’s electronics manufacturing away from China.
Taiwan Semiconductor said that it would spend $40 billion U.S. on the two new Arizona-based chip plants. The first plant is expected to open in 2024, and the second plant is scheduled to come online in 2026.
The two plants are expected to produce 600,000 wafers per year when fully operational, which is enough to meet annual demand in America.