The US finalizes $6.6 billion reward in grants for TSMC

TSMC has been a hot topic in the tech industry lately. The company has recently been under the scanner of the US government for its possible ties with Huawei. However, there’s some good news coming in for the chip maker ahead of Christmas. According to Reuters, the US Department of Commerce has finalized $6.6 billion in grants for TSMC’s facilities in Phoenix, Arizona.

The US Department of Commerce finalizes $6.6 billion in grants for TSMC

The semiconductor manufacturer has been awarded the grant under the CHIPS Act funding. The US Department of Commerce had already mentioned the reward amount following a preliminary agreement announced in April this year. It is one of the major awards to be completed under the $52.5 billion subsidy program introduced by the US government in 2022.

Per the agreement, TSMC will receive cash as it completes project milestones. The US Department of Commerce expects to hand over at least $1 billion to the company by the end of 2024. TSMC’s award also includes an additional $5 billion in low-cost government loans. Not to forget, the $6.6 billion grant for TSMC comes just a few weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Last month, Trump criticized the Chips ACT in a three-hour-long interview with Joe Rogan. Referring to the TSMC deal in the interview, Trump said “That deal is so bad.” He further added, “All you had to do is charge them tariffs.” Although it’s quite clear that Trump is against this deal, the Biden government has eventually cemented it. According to some policy experts, the newly elected President is also unlikely to roll back the CHIPS Act.

TSMC will reportedly produce 2nm chips at its second Arizona fab

In April, TSMC agreed to expand the investment by $25 billion to $65 billion. The chip maker also said that it would add a third fab in Phoenix, Arizona by 2030. The Taiwanese company will reportedly produce the 2nm chips at its second Arizona fab, with production expected to kick off sometime in 2028.

As reported by Reuters, the company also agreed to use its most advanced chip manufacturing technology called “A16” in Arizona. Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce, didn’t confirm whether the department influenced TSMC’s decision to stop AI chip production for Chinese companies.

However, she mentioned, “Investing in TSMC to expand here is offense – defense is making sure that neither TSMC nor any other company sells our most sophisticated technology to China and violates our export controls.”

TSMC CEO, C.C. Wei has his say about this deal. In a statement, Wei added that this deal “helps us to accelerate the development of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology available in the U.S.” Talking of related company news, a tipster has recently claimed that Samsung is considering TSMC to produce Exynos SoCs.