Commerce Department finalizes $6.6 billion semiconductor deal with TSMC

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The Biden administration announced on Friday that the Commerce Department awarded TSMC Arizona $6.6 billion in direct funding to go for three greenfield leading-edge fabs in Phoenix.

The announcement of the award for the company, a subsidiary of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited, comes after a previously signed preliminary memo of terms, announced on April 8, and the completion of a Commerce Department review.

The first of the three TSMC facilities is expected to open next year, marking the first time in decades that a U.S. manufacturing plant will be producing the leading-edge chips used in the world's most advanced technologies.

"[The semiconductor facilities] will create tens of thousands of jobs by the end of the decade," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "This is the largest foreign direct investment in a greenfield projecting the history of the United States.

"Today's announcement is among the most critical milestones yet in the implementation of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and demonstrates how we are ensuring that the progress made to date will continue to unfold in the coming years, benefitting communities all across the country."

Biden said previously that once the plants are operational, they will make up to 20% of the world's most advanced chips.

"Entering this phase of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act marks a pivotal step in strengthening the semiconductor ecosystems in the United States," C.C. Wei, TSMC's chairman and CEO said in a statement. "The signing of this agreement helps us to accelerate the development of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology available in the U.S."