U.S. Commerce Secretary "First 4-Nano Chip Production in Arizona"

Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry, or semiconductor consignment producer, has begun mass production of state-of-the-art 4-nano chips at its Arizona plant in the United States, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Lermondo said.

In an interview with Reuters on the 11th local time, Commerce Secretary Lemondo reported TSMC's mass production of 4-nano chips, saying, "For the first time in U.S. history, we are producing 4-nano chips on U.S. soil."

"U.S. workers are producing advanced 4-nanometer chips at the same level of yield and quality as Taiwan," he said. "Production has begun in recent weeks."

"This is a big achievement, something that many thought was impossible," Lemondo said, stressing that it would mark a milestone for the Biden administration's semiconductor efforts.

Currently, the most advanced foundry commercial technology is the 3-nano process, and TSMC and Samsung Electronics are mass-producing 3-nano products in Taiwan and Korea, respectively.

The Biden administration has been encouraging global semiconductor companies to build factories in the U.S., providing huge subsidies, and confirmed $6.6 billion in semiconductor aid to TSMC in November last year.

TSMC previously announced plans to expand its investment in the U.S. to $65 billion in April and build a third fab (semiconductor production plant) in Arizona where a 2-nanometer process will be utilized by 2030.

Secretary Lemondo said it was not done on its own and introduced that the U.S. Department of Commerce had to persuade TSMC to expand its construction plans in the U.S.