We are all aware of the tension between China and Taiwan. This has reportedly increased concern about delays in shipment and exports, which is why, for a long time, the Taiwanese semiconductor giant, TSMC, has been looking to diversify its production. TSMC is already building a plant in Arizona, USA, that will manufacture 4nm and 5nm chips for Apple, NVIDIA, and other companies.
Starting in 2026, TSMC's Arizona plant will start producing 3nm chips. The two-to-three-year lag at the USA plant means that it won't be making the latest A-series and M-series chips. Now, the latest reports suggest that TSMC's first-ever European plant will be located in Dresden, Germany. Interestingly, the company has no plans to manufacture chips at its European plant for Apple, at least for now.
However, Samsung's rival TSMC isn't ruling out any possibilities. It is Apple's sole supplier of A-series and M-series chips. TSMC is also planning to set up a plant in Japan in partnership with Sony and is in advance talks with key suppliers to set up a TSMC European plant in the German city of Dresden. For that, the company will also be sending a team of senior executives to Germany next year.
As per the Financial Times, this will be the TSMC executive's second trip, and a final decision on the investment in the European plant that will undergo construction by 2024 is speculated to follow soon. TSMC's Dresden plant in Germany is said to be focused on supplying chips to the automotive industry, which will be based on 22nm and 28nm processes.
While the delay in producing 3nm chips by TSMC could have been a fruitful scenario for Samsung, it wasn't in reality. Apple still chose TSMC over Samsung for future 3nm M3 and A17 Bionic chips as these companies generally have a long-term contracts. So, who knows, the TSMC plant in Germany could be the one producing the 3nm-based M3 and A17 Bionic chips?
