Apple-TSMC-Amkor Pact Bolsters U.S. Chip Supply Chain

By Alan Patterson, EETimes (December 15, 2023)

A manufacturing alliance that Apple, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Amkor formed last month will help rebuild a semiconductor supply chain in the U.S., experts told EE Times.

Amkor, the world’s second-largest chip packager, said it plans to build a $2 billion assembly-and-test facility in Arizona to support TSMC’s nearby semiconductor plant that’s under construction. With Apple as one of the largest customers, Amkor expects the facility to be the biggest advanced packaging operation in the U.S.

Reviving U.S. chip fabrication, at the apex of the electronics industry, is unlikely without also rebuilding basic supporting industries like chip assembly and test. As the U.S. prepares to disburse by the end of this year the $52 billion package of CHIPS Act incentives to help revive the domestic industry, there is concern that most of the support will go to chipmakers that many argue don’t need the help while neglecting the dwindling U.S. assembly-and-test segment.

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