Trump announces $100 billion TSMC investment in US chip manufacturing
March 3, 2025
President Donald Trump and TSMC (TSM) announced Monday that the Taiwanese chip manufacturer will invest at least $100 billion in its US manufacturing capabilities “over the next short period of time,” bringing the company’s total investment in the US to $165 billion.
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said during a briefing at the White House that the new investment will be used to build three new chip manufacturing facilities, two advanced packaging plants, and a research and development center in Arizona. Intel (INTC) is currently the only chip manufacturer with R&D in the US.
“Most importantly, actually, we are going to produce many AI chips,” Wei said.
“The most powerful AI chips in the world will be made right here in America,” Trump said, adding that the TSMC investment is expected to generate between 20,000 and 25,000 jobs.
Various media outlets had reported on the investment ahead of its official announcement
TSMC, which manufactures the most advanced AI chips for Big Tech firms including Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), had already committed to investing over $65 billion to build three US manufacturing facilities, or “fabs,” in Arizona since 2020. The Taiwanese company’s first US fab is fully operational, the second is slated for operation beginning in 2028, and the third has not yet begun construction.
Analysts and politicians see the company’s US expansion as crucial to strengthening the United States’ domestic manufacturing footprint as US-China tensions rise and the government looks to reclaim technological dominance in the space.
“TSMC’s new fabs will be the foundational pillar of a new technology supply chain centered in the United States,” an Nvidia spokesperson told Yahoo Finance. “NVIDIA will fully utilize TSMC’s global manufacturing network to enhance our supply agility and resilience.”
“President Trump has made it a fundamental objective to bring semiconductor chip manufacturing home to America,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday in the briefing. He suggested that TSMC’s investment was made to “avoid paying tariffs.”
“They’re coming here in huge size because they want to be in the greatest market in the world, and they want to avoid the tariffs, and if they’re not here, they’d have to suffer,” Lutnik said.
Read more: What are tariffs, and how do they affect you?
Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman told Yahoo Finance: “With tariffs on the horizon and the United States pushing aggressively to bring more manufacturing to the US, a bigger more immediate commitment from TSMC should serve as a signal of goodwill…”
TSMC announced plans to build its first of its US chip factories in Arizona in 2020, during Trump’s first term. The company committed to building a second fab in 2022 and a third site in 2024 in the state after it was awarded $6.6 billion in federal grants as part of the US Chips and Science Act, a milestone of the Biden administration.
US Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Monday of TSMC’s latest investment: “This is huge news for Arizona that officially cements our state as a global hub for building the most advanced microchips in the world, and will put tens of thousands of Arizonans to work in good-paying jobs that do not require a 4-year degree.”
TSMC’s announcement Monday comes as the Trump administration reportedly slashed jobs from the US Chips Act office, according to Bloomberg. Trump has called the Biden-era Chips and Science Act “so bad.”
The first iteration of the Chips Act was authorized during Trump’s first term as part of a bipartisan push to revitalize the US’s position in semiconductor manufacturing.
US-listed shares of TSMC fell more than 4% Monday.
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Email her at laura.bratton@yahooinc.com.
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