TSMC's founder has confirmed that 3nm chips will be produced at its new Arizona facility.
As Reuters reports, confirmation came via TSMC founder Morris Chang, who told reporters in Taipei that, "Three-nanometer, TSMC right now has a plan, but it has not been completely finalized ... It has almost been finalized - in the same Arizona site, phase two. Five-nanometer is phase one, 3-nanometer is phase two."
TSMC announced it was building a 5nm chip factory in Arizona back in 2020 with production planned to start at some point in 2024. The factory is good news for Arizona, as 1,600 high-tech jobs are expected to be created, and it's good news for US chip manufacturing, too. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also confirmed recently that Apple will be using chips made at the new facility when it comes online.
5nm chips will remain important for many years to come, but they are no longer at the cutting edge or offer the highest performance for the latest devices. So a move to 3nm in Arizona is a positive step if such chip production can come online quickly. After all, TSMC is expected to start producing 2nm chips in Taiwan from 2025.