The first Blackwell AI chip wafers made by TSMC in the US. (Image source: Nvidia)
Nvidia is leveraging TSMC’s massive $165 billion foundry investment in the US to start making its own AI chips there. The goal of Nvidia and TSMC is independent made-in-America AI chip production in Arizona.
Nvidia now produces cutting edge AI chips in the US with its latest Blackwell Architecture. The first American-made Blackwell tapeout wafers have been produced by the TSMC facility in Arizona.
Jensen Huang (CEO of Nvidia) gave a keynote to the American TSMC staff in Arizona, commemorating the milestone. He signed a Blackwell Wafer with TSMC VP of Operations Wang.
TSMC is investing heavily in its first factory on US soil. $165 billion has been committed so far and more will be. The Arizona factory can only meet a fraction of US company processor requirements, but its ability to produce the most advanced AI chip available underscores its strategic significance.
To achieve greater independence in AI data processing fields, the US is establishing a chip supply in America. The first made-in Arizona Blackwell wafers show that this new onshoring policy is working. According to Huang “this is a historic moment for several reasons.”
it’s the first time in recent American History that the single most significant chip is being produced here in the United States, by the most advanced fab TSMC here in the United States. This is President Trump’s vision of reindustrialization – to bring manufacturing back to America, create jobs, but also to make this the most important manufacturing industry and technology industry in the entire world.
TSMC also sounds pretty proud. It only took a few short years to break the ground in Arizona for the production of the most advanced AI chip there, with the architecture that powers popular video cards like the Asus RTX-5070 Ti that has now been discounted by 15%. AmazonThe US recently leaned upon it to invest in Intel but did so themselves, asking TSMC instead to nearly double its investment in chip production in the US, if it wanted to skirt import tariffs.
Other major semiconductor names, including TSMC have announced deals with American firms to manufacture AI chips in the US. Tesla recently partnered up with Samsung to produce the future AI6 chip that will be used in autonomous driving and Optimus robotics at its Texas foundry. Samsung AI chips will be produced in Texas using the next-generation 2nm production technology, unlike TSMC’s Nvidia blackwell production which is currently being taped out on a node of 4nm in Arizona.
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Daniel Zlatev – Senior Tech Writer – 1926 articles have been published on Notebookcheck since 2021
Daniel was enchanted by technology since the industrial espionage days of Apple computers, and the pixelized Nintendos. He opened a gaming center when consoles and personal computers were still expensive rarities. Today, the fascination is no longer with specs and speeds, but the lifestyle that computers have forced us into, from the endless scroll to the privacy hazards and authenticating our every move.
