After four years of planning, TSMC is now finally going to make older iPhone processors in the US, but it's not and never will be a true return to American manufacturing.

In November 2024, the US Commerce Department finalised a $6.6bn grant for TSMC for semiconductor production in Arizona.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has begun producing advanced four-nanometer chips for U.S. customers in Arizona, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters, a milestone in the Biden administration's semiconductor efforts.

TSMC's chip foundry in Arizona is not just making one Apple chip, as a second Apple design is reportedly now in production at the facility.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) first announced its plans to build an “advanced semiconductor manufacturing fabrication” facility in Arizona in early 2020, committing to a $12 billion investment in Phoenix that it later increased to a staggering $40 billion when it committed to a second facility in the state.

Apple is in the final stage of verifying its first “made in America” cutting edge processor chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant in Arizona. The first batch of commercial mass-produced chips is expected as early as this quarter, after the quality assurance processes are completed, people briefed on the matter said.

TSMC's Arizona plant has apparently started making Apple Watch chips. Here's everything we know about Apple US production.

Apple is already testing the initial batch of processors produced for its devices by TSMC Arizona, reports Nikkei Asia. To begin with, the tests intend to compare the Arizona output to see if the quality is similar to chips produced in TSMC’s cutting-edge fabs in Taiwan.