Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TMSC) is the first CHIPS Act awardee to receive part of the money the government has promised. The Biden administration has finalized its grants for TSMC, which expects to receive $6.6 billion in grants as part of its agreement to increase semiconductor production in the US. TSMC will also borrow another $5 billion from the state to finance its planned $65 billion three-factories expansion in Arizona. In accordance with Bloomberg, gets at least $1 billion in total value before the end of the year, having met a certain set of requirements.
In October, a Canadian research firm found that Huawei was using TSMC chips in its artificial intelligence accelerators in violation of US government sanctions. TSMC denied having a working relationship with Huawei, and stopped shipping to a customer who may have been illegally shipping its chips to Huawei. It also decided to stop producing advanced AI chips for its Chinese customers, reportedly because it wanted to show the US government that it was “not acting against US interests.”
“Today’s final agreement with TSMC – the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors – will include $65 billion in private investment to build three state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona and create tens of thousands of jobs by the end of this decade. … Center the first of three TSMC plants will be fully operational early next year,” said President Joe Biden in a statement.
Other companies, such as Intel and Samsung, are still waiting to receive their grants. Business groups are reportedly urging the government to complete their CHIPS Act deals before Biden leaves office. While they have no qualms about the new administration killing the CHIPS Act, which enjoyed bipartisan support, they clearly want to avoid the possibility of renegotiating the government.
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