It’s official! Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has finally begun production at its Arizona plant, marking a major milestone for U.S. chip manufacturing.
The company’s “Fab 21” facility in Phoenix has produced its first semiconductor wafer for Nvidia’s cutting-edge Blackwell architecture — an event that both companies celebrated with great fanfare this October.
According to recent reports, TSMC and Nvidia proudly unveiled the first U.S.-made Blackwell wafer, confirming that production using the specialized 4-nanometer (4N) process is now underway in Arizona.
It is more than a regular chip — this is the first time such an advanced GPU-class chip is being manufactured in the United States, a milestone that could further boost Nvidia stock price.
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang proudly stated: “It’s the very first time in recent American history that the single most important chip is being manufactured here in the United States by the most advanced fab, by TSMC, here in the United States”.
While Nvidia has described this as evidence that Blackwell has entered “volume production,” the Arizona-made wafers are not yet ready to power the next generation of AI systems.
After fabrication in Arizona, the wafers must still be sent back to Taiwan for critical advanced packaging and final assembly steps.
The reason for this is that TSMC’s CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) packaging technology — which enables the dense integration of GPU dies and HBM memory — is not yet available at the U.S. facilities.
Then, even though producing a wafer in Arizona is already a significant achievement, the entire manufacturing process still cannot be completed in the United States.
This journey has been anything but easy for TSMC. Since its announcement in 2020, the Arizona project has faced numerous challenges, including delays related to workforce training, equipment installation, and permitting issues.
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce confirmed earlier this year that limited production of 4-nanometer chips had started. This is a major step in achieving the goal set by the US CHIPS and Science Act — reducing America’s dependence on foreign chip manufacturing.
For Nvidia, the partnership with TSMC’s Arizona facility is strategically significant. As governments and enterprise customers grow more concerned about secure and localized chip production, having part of its supply chain in the United States strengthens the company’s position, even though final assembly remains offshore for now.
Cost is still a major consideration. Chips produced in the U.S. are said to cost 5-20% more than those made in Taiwan, mainly due to higher labor and resource expenses. However, TSMC and key U.S. officials argue that securing the supply chain and ensuring technological independence justify the extra cost.
TSMC is not hiding its ambitious plans to reinforce the American expansion, reportedly aiming to establish a “gigafab cluster” in Phoenix.
That would add advanced packaging capabilities in future phases, enabling a greater portion of the production process to be completed domestically and reducing the need for overseas transfers to finish manufacturing.
This first Blackwell wafer then represents more than a technical achievement — it stands as a powerful symbol of America’s renewed commitment to advanced manufacturing, potentially leading to a noticeable uptick in the sector’s performance when viewed through stock screeners.
After years of investment and policy efforts to rebuild domestic semiconductor production, TSMC’s Arizona fab has evolved from blueprint to reality. While the process remains partly dependent on Taiwan, the United States has undeniably taken a significant step toward reclaiming its role in the upper tiers of the global semiconductor supply chain.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
