Apple Plans To Go Local With US Chip Production in 2024

Apple is going local.

CEO Tim Cook has announced that the Cupertino-based company will soon begin purchasing chips from a production plant in Arizona in an effort to source chips for Apple products locally. He revealed the news during a meeting with local engineering and retail employees in Germany.

About 60 percent of the world’s processors are produced in Asia, specifically in Taiwan. Shifting a part of the production process to the US would lessen Apple’s reliance on another country, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg noted.

“Regardless of what you may feel and think, 60 percent coming out of anywhere is probably not a strategic position," said Cook.

While it has yet to be confirmed, it is likely that the production plant in question refers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) Arizona plant, Apple’s exclusive partner in producing chips.

The plant, which is currently under construction, is expected to start working in 2024 with a target of producing 20,000 chips per month.

This announcement coincides with the CHIPS and Science Act, recently signed by President Joe Biden. The new law offers $52 billion in funding from the US government to companies building chips in the United States.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding this project, including speculation that TSMC is considering building a second plant next to its existing facility in Arizona.

Additionally, the announcement boosted talks of the company possibly increasing its supply of chips from production plants in Europe.

Although details are yet to be confirmed, the shift to local production marks a big step in Apple’s production process and could indicate a long-term strategy that is coming in the following years.

Apple’s current Macbook laptop lineup touts its very own Apple silicon M2 chip, introduced in June 2022. The new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max smartphones, on the other hand, carry an A16 chip which is believed to be manufactured by TSMC.