TSMC plans to invest more than $25 billion to build third wafer fab in Arizona

On April 9, according to foreign media reports, TSMC, whose first wafer factory is scheduled to be put into production in the first half of next year and whose second wafer factory is also under construction, intends to make more investments in Arizona and plans to build a third wafer factory.

TSMC announced on its official website on Wednesday that it plans to build a third wafer fab in Arizona to provide advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes to meet strong demand from customers.

Like the first two wafer fabs, the third wafer fab that TSMC plans to build in Arizona will also require a huge investment. They stated on their official website that the third wafer fab will push TSMC's total capital expenditure in Phoenix to more than $65 billion.

On May 15, 2020, TSMC announced the construction of its first wafer factory in Arizona. The plan at the time was to use 5nm process technology to manufacture wafers for related customers after completion, with a monthly production capacity of 20,000 wafers. Including capital expenditures, TSMC's total expenditure on this factory from 2021 to 2029 is planned to be US$12 billion.

However, on December 6, 2022, TSMC announced on its official website that the process technology of its Arizona factory will be upgraded from the previously planned 5nm to 4nm, and announced the construction of a second wafer factory. After completion, it will use a 3nm process technology to manufacture wafers for customers. It is planned to be put into production in 2026. After the construction of the second wafer factory, TSMC’s total investment in the two wafer factories in Arizona will increase to nearly US$40 billion, and the annual production capacity of the two factories will exceed 600,000 wafers.

The investment in the previous two wafer fabs was close to US$40 billion, and the construction of the third wafer fab will exceed US$65 billion, which means that TSMC's investment in the third wafer fab in Arizona will exceed US$25 billion.

TSMC also announced on its official website that the third wafer factory they plan to build will adopt 2nm or more advanced process technology after completion to manufacture wafers for customers.

Although TSMC has announced plans to build a third wafer fab in Arizona, they have not announced when construction will begin or mentioned the factory's production capacity, only that it plans to start production in the late 2030s.