TSMC says Arizona investment going to plan amid groundbreaking rumors

Taipei, Feb. 17 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Monday that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is set to break ground on its third wafer fab in the U.S. in June.

In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well.

TSMC is investing over US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first has started production using the 4-nanometer process, while the second will mass produce using the more sophisticated 3 nm, 2 nm and A16 processes in 2028. The third will start production of chips using 2 nm or more advanced processes, with production beginning by the end of the decade, TSMC said last year.

However, a Chinese-language Economic Daily News report said over the weekend that the company had decided to move its fab 3 schedule 1-.15 years earlier due to pressure from the Trump administration amid the U.S. president's "Made in America" push.

The report said that TSMC would likely break ground on the third fab in June and invite U.S. government officials to a ceremony to demonstrate the chipmaker's dedication to expanding its investments in the U.S.

The trial run of the third fab could kick off in early 2027 and begin commercial production in 2028, the report said.

The report added that the discussions on the fab 3 schedule did not happen during the latest board meeting in Arizona on Feb. 12.

It was the first time TSMC had held a board meeting in the U.S. and it took place amid Trump's recent threats to hit Taiwanese semiconductors with huge tariffs.

However, discussions about new TSMC investments were not held during the board meeting, contrary to market expectations.

The report also claimed TSMC has considered building an even more advanced 3D Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) IC packaging plant in the U.S.

TSMC has been also the subject of other rumors, including whether it will acquire a stake in American chipmaker Intel Corp.'s fab operations through a technology transfer or cash injection.

Market analysts warned that technology transfers could lead to TSMC's technological secrets being leaked.