TSMC Weighs Third Japan Chip Plant With Cutting-Edge 3nm Tech
- The facility could cost about $20 billion, depending on timing
- Japan could become a global chipmaking hub aided by state fund
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is considering building a third plant in Japan that would make advanced 3-nanometer chips, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially turning the East Asian nation into a major global chipmaking hub.
The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. has told its supply chain partners it’s mulling construction of a third factory, code-named TSMC Fab-23 Phase 3, in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. TSMC is in the process of building one fab in Japan for less advanced chips, and plans for a second facility have been reported earlier. It is unclear yet when the company would start construction of the third fab.