The first Blackwell artificial intelligence chip wafer was born at the Arizona plant of TSMC, the leading wafer foundry. In addition, it also applied to China Science and Technology to start construction of a 1.4nm advanced process plant. Experts analyzed today that TSMC’s overseas advanced manufacturing focus will be mainly in the United States and will ensure that Taiwan’s core position in advanced manufacturing and R&D remains unchanged.
NVIDIA (NVIDIA) CEO Jen-Hsun Huang visited TSMC’s Arizona plant today to celebrate the birth of the first wafer produced in the United States that will be used to manufacture Blackwell artificial intelligence (AI) chips. This means that NVIDIA Blackwell architecture AI chips have entered the mass production stage.
Zhuang Ruiping, CEO of TSMC's Arizona subsidiary, pointed out that in just a few years after TSMC landed in Arizona, it delivered the first batch of Blackwell chips manufactured in the United States, demonstrating the best strength of TSMC. This milestone is the result of 30 years of cooperation between TSMC and NVIDIA and relies on the joint efforts of TSMC employees and local partners.
In addition, TSMC has submitted a document to the China Science and Technology Administration Bureau to declare the construction of a 1.4nm advanced process factory. The new China Science and Technology factory is expected to be mass-produced in the second half of 2028. The initial investment amount is estimated to be as high as US$49 billion (approximately NT$1.5 trillion), creating 8,000 to 10,000 job opportunities.
Liu Peizhen, director of the Industrial and Economic Database of the National Taiwan Institute of Economics, accepted a reporter's telephone interview and analyzed that this means that TSMC will deepen its cultivation in Taiwan and focus overseas on the United States. Among them, TSMC will simultaneously expand production at its four major bases in Taiwan: Hsinchu Baoshan (2nm), Kaohsiung (advanced process and packaging), Chiayi (advanced packaging and testing), and Taichung (A14 process advanced packaging), ensuring that Taiwan's core position as an advanced process and R&D center remains unchanged.
Liu Peizhen said that TSMC is also accelerating its layout upgrade overseas. The new factory in Arizona, USA, is not only accelerating, but also plans to upgrade to N2 and N2+ advanced process nodes early, and plans to build an independent super-large wafer fab cluster. In addition, TSMC has launched the second factory in Kumamoto, Japan, and continues to build factories in Dresden, Germany, etc., which are all progressing steadily in accordance with customer needs and market conditions.
Liu Peizhen pointed out that this not only represents TSMC's response to geopolitical risks, but also regards overseas strongholds as another long-term node to deepen global trust and supply chain resilience.
TSMC pointed out at a recent corporate briefing that TSMC will acquire a second large area of land near its existing factory in Arizona, USA, and expand it into an independent super-large wafer fab cluster to support the advanced process needs of customers such as smartphones, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing (HPC).
TSMC stated that it is preparing several phases of 2-nanometer wafer fabs in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung Science Park, and will continue to invest in advanced processes and advanced packaging plants in Taiwan in the next few years; in addition, the construction of the second special process wafer fab in Kumamoto, Japan has begun.