| The US plans to award Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing $US6.6 billion in grants and as much as $US5 billion in loans to help the world’s top chipmaker build factories in Arizona, expanding President Joe Biden’s effort to boost domestic production of critical technology.
“For the first time ever, we will be making at scale the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet here in the United States of America, by the way, with American workers,” Ms Raimondo told reporters in a briefing before the announcement. TSMC plans to first make 2nm chips in Taiwan next year.It will be months before TSMC receives any of the promised funding, as the company enters a due-diligence period before reaching a final, binding agreement.
Intel has already signed a preliminary agreement for almost $US20 billion in grants and loans, while Samsung Electronics of South Korea is expected to receive a grant of more than $US6 billion. The Commerce Department has also handed three awards to companies that manufacture older-generation chips and is expected to announce a multibillion-dollar package for Micron Technology in coming weeks.