TSMC pushes back the launch of its Arizona plant to 2025

TSMC’s original plans for its semiconductor foundry in Arizona was to start mass producing chips next year. However, the company just announced a delay: “We expect the production schedule of N4 process technology to be pushed out to 2025,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu told Nikkei Asia. Note that “N4” is one of TSMC’s 4nm nodes.

The issue is the lack of enough skilled workers and technicians that can move in and install the advanced equipment used in the foundry. TSMC is sending technicians over from its factories in Taiwan to help with the setup.

TSMC is also building a second plant in Arizona, which will produce 3nm chips. After an initial $12 billion investment, there was a further $40 billion investment announced by President Biden and Tim Cook.

Due to a slowdown in the consumer electronics market TSMC is now forecasting a 10% drop in full-year revenue compared to 2022. This comes after reporting its first quarterly drop in net profit since 2019.

On the bright side, the company is a key manufacturing partner for GPU makers Nvidia and AMD. It is the sole manufacturer for some of their most popular products AI accelerators at a time when AI is being added to all sorts of products by many companies. TSMC also has a lot of chipset orders coming up for the next generation of iPhones and Macs.

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