Apple plans to begin sourcing some of its chips from a plant in Arizona, according to a report from Bloomberg. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the information in a meeting with engineering employees in Germany back when he was touring Europe.
"We've already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in '24, so we've got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less," Cook told the employees. "And in Europe, I'm sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent," he said at the meeting, which included Apple services chief Eddy Cue and Deirdre O'Brien, its head of retail and human resources.
Cook did not provide details on the chips that Apple will source from Arizona, but Apple supplier TSMC is currently building a fabrication plant near Phoenix. TSMC started the project in 2020, and it will start mass production on 4-nanometer chips in 2024.
Just last week, The Wall Street Journal said that TSMC plans to open a second factory in Arizona, with the $12 billion plant set to manufacture cutting edge next-generation 3-nanometer chips that will likely be used for future Apple devices.
The Biden administration has been aiming to encourage companies to manufacture chips in the United States through financial incentives, while Apple has also been looking to cut down on its reliance on China. TSMC's primary factories are in Taiwan, but it also operates locations in Camas, Washington, as well as design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California.
