Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has reached a significant milestone in its expansion into the US. Recent trial production at the company’s new Arizona facility has yielded results comparable to those of its established plants in Taiwan, according to Bloomberg, which cited a person familiar with the company who requested anonymity. This development is a positive sign for the chipmaker’s ambitious US project, which has faced delays and doubts about whether it could match the production efficiency of its Taiwanese operations.

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      462 months ago

      Arizona has fairly consistent and predictable weather, decently reliable power grids (with access to cleaner energy sources like solar, hydro, and nuclear), and is pretty seismically stable. Plus Phoenix has been trying to set itself up as a bit of a tech hub for a while now so you have access to an existing market of skilled labor plus a supply to fresh talent from ASU (and the other universities).

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      452 months ago

      Low taxes brought to you by a severely underfunded school system and absolute zero protections for climate or workers.

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      142 months ago

      I thought making these things requires a shitton of water. Arizona has a pretty dry climate last I checked.

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        2 months ago

        As I recall that was a significant concern early on. And part of the deal was that they recycle their water, and keep the fresh water consumption below a certain level.

        That way they don’t have to deprive the farmers growing water hungry crops in the desert with 80% of the local water supply.

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      92 months ago

      I think the area is seismically stable, which is a major factor for this kind of manufacturing.