The chip supplier of Apple TSMC plans to build a new factory in Singapore to help address the global chip shortage, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Η TSMC is Apple's sole chip supplier, responsible for manufacturing all of the company's custom silicon chips, including the A15 Bionic and M1. Although the company's orders have priority limiting the impact of shortages on Apple's customers, TSMC has not stopped suffering from global supply chain problems as the world's largest contract chip maker.
According to people said to be familiar with the matter, the Singapore government may help finance the construction of the plant, which will require billions of dollars.
The proposed production lines will manufacture chips with 7 to 28nm manufacturing processes, which are older production technologies. Since, therefore, Apple's latest chips are manufactured using TSMC's 5nm process, therefore they could not be manufactured at the new Singapore plant. Of course, the expansion could free up capacity at other factories where Apple's chips can be manufactured and help with the problem of global shortages.
In addition to plans for a new plant in Singapore, TSMC is also building a $12 billion plant in Arizona to manufacture 5nm chips and one in Japan with the help of the Japanese government and Sony's investment.
