Is Apple bringing chip manufacturing home? – Computerworld

TSMC doubles down

That’s why it is significant that TSMC confirmed plans to extend its own manufacturing in America. It already has a $165 billion US commitment; now, it is investing an additional $100 billion in four more chip plants — including one dedicated to churning out the company’s most advanced 2nm (and smaller) processors. 

“We believe this investment will help to further foster the development of the US semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain, and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States,”  CEO C.C. Wei told analysts.

TSMC has also confirmed plans to invest in packaging facilities for processors, which is basically the process where memory, processor, and networking nodes can all be combined and packaged on the chip. That sort of packaging is needed to make the final SoC chip. That means TSMC factories in the US will be able to churn out the advanced processors used in Apple’s current and, presumably, future devices.

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Bosch Lands $225M in CHIPS Funding for California Chip Plant

Bosch—a provider of technology and services and the largest automotive supplier in the world according to external rankings—announced a definitive agreement for up to $225 million in direct funding from the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Program Office. This will support the up to $2 billion Bosch is investing to transform its Roseville, California, site for the production of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors, company officials stated in a press release.

The Roseville facility, which has more than 40 years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing, is evolving into a facility that produces and tests SiC semiconductors with state-of-the-art processes and equipment. Bosch also announced it has begun sample production in Roseville as the company intends to produce its first commercial production chips on 200-millimeter wafers based on the pioneering SiC Bosch technology in 2026.

“The start of sample production and our agreement with the Department of Commerce is a milestone in providing our local customers with what they have requested—localized U.S.-based manufacturing,” said Paul Thomas, president and CEO of Bosch in North America. “The production of silicon carbide chips in the United States helps to support supply chain resiliency and capitalizes on the expertise of U.S. manufacturing associates to bring this technology to the U.S. market in a timely manner.”

As part of its investment into U.S. manufacturing at the Roseville site, Bosch has developed a new cleanroom space and high-tech manufacturing line for production of silicon carbide chips. Bosch says that it has accelerated its time-to-market through investment into a long-standing U.S.-based manufacturing facility with highly skilled U.S.-based associates who bring specific semiconductor experience.

Bosch is investing up to $2 billion to transform the Roseville site into a facility that produces & tests SiC semiconductors.

In April 2023, Bosch announced its intention to acquire the assets of the existing wafer fab in Roseville. The acquisition was closed in August 2023, and since that time Bosch has begun to transform the site while also maintaining employment of the existing associates throughout the transformation process. Bosch invested in the further development of Roseville associates through training and collaboration with the Bosch production network.

Bosch has a long-standing commitment to the U.S. and is celebrating its 120th anniversary in the country in 2026, officials said. The company plans to invest up to $7.5 billion over the next five years across its operations in the U.S. as it heads toward its 125th anniversary of U.S. operations in 2031.

“We are focused on growth and investment in the United States in order to increase the share of our global portfolio that is represented by North America and the U.S. specifically,” Thomas said. “The Roseville investment is a key milestone in our 120 years in the U.S.”

Why Silicon Carbide Chips Matter for EV Manufacturing

Silicon carbide chips are becoming foundational in electric and next-generation mobility systems as they handle high voltages, high temperatures and fast switching more efficiently. They also enable automotive manufacturers with a technology that supports consumer choice in the market, as it helps to enable greater range and more efficient recharging in battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Recently, Bosch announced its third-generation silicon carbide chips that deliver up to 20% higher performance and are smaller than the previous generation. In the near future, Bosch plans to manufacture third-generation silicon carbide chips in Roseville. The new generation helps to enable greater cost efficiency and supports making high-performance electronics more widely available worldwide. Bosch has already delivered more than 60 million SiC chips worldwide since the first generation went into production in 2021.

In addition to mobility applications, silicon carbide also has potential uses in other business sectors, including industrial energy applications for energy consumption effectiveness in data centers. Since SiC chips enable higher-efficiency, higher-power conversion with less heat and smaller components, they’re ideal for supporting rapidly growing AI workloads while reducing energy and cooling demands.

Bosch intends to start U.S.-based commercial manufacturing in 2026, just three years after acquiring the Roseville site.

“Silicon carbide semiconductors are the enabling technology behind the electrification in multiple critical industries, including energy, automotive and defense. The CHIPS Program incentive supports Bosch’s effort to onshore silicon carbide technology that will bolster supply chain resiliency for our country,” said Bill Frauenhofer, executive director for semiconductor innovation and investment at the Department of Commerce.

The Roseville site represents the first semiconductor production site in the United States for Bosch and is one of 20 facilities with manufacturing operations in the U.S. for Bosch across the company’s broad portfolio. Bosch employs around 10,000 associates working in manufacturing operations in the United States. The company has invested significant capital in the U.S. over the past five years, the majority of which is focused on manufacturing, the company said.

In addition, the Roseville site has also been awarded a $25 million California Competes Tax Credit incentive from the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz) to support redevelopment and investment in Roseville.

The Bosch site in Roseville currently employs more than 300 associates, with potential to grow in the future based on market development. Along with advancing the skills of its current associates, Bosch is making local investments to strengthen future semiconductor talent in the United States.

Beginning in 2026, Bosch plans to invest more than $100,000 per year in the Roseville community through the Bosch Community Fund, the regional foundation for Bosch in North America. Since 2024, the Bosch Community Fund has invested $200,000 in grant awards to schools and nonprofits in support of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives, impacting nearly 1,500 students and teachers in the Roseville area.

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Growing shortage of high-skilled workers threatens US chip manufacturing revival

Washington – A growing nationwide shortage of high-skilled workers threatens to delay the construction of billions of dollars in new semiconductor plants across the United States and constrain future chip production unless the industry pools resources and the government keeps up funding, according to a new report.

The deficit is expected to be most acute in states such as Texas, California, Arizona, New York and Ohio, where many of the new facilities are being planned, according to new analysis including a survey of employers from McKinsey & Co, the chip industry group SEMI and the National Science Foundation.

Altogether, the skilled labour shortage is projected to reach as many as 157,000 full-time workers by 2030, the study released on July 7 found.

The dearth of talent risks stalling plans by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to invest as much as an estimated US$265 billion (S$342 billion) in a dozen chip-making and packaging facilities in Arizona, as well as Micron Technology’s vision to spend US$100 billion on memory chip production in New York and Samsung Electronics’ logic chip facility in Texas.

Even Intel’s delayed US$28 billion investment in Ohio is set for shortages once production ramps up, the report said.

The workforce challenges mark the latest hurdle for chipmakers seeking to expand their manufacturing footprint in the US and reverse the migration of production capacity to Asia that unfolded decades ago.

Rising prices for a wide range of goods including copper, steel and cement threaten to increase the cost of construction for new facilities billed as a centrepiece of US President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.

At the same time that the chip industry expects to see a worker shortfall, the artificial intelligence boom – and companies’ rush to invest in it – has also been blamed for layoffs in other parts of the labour market, including in the tech industry.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks layoff plans, found almost 102,000 announced job cuts attributed to AI so far in 2026.

Unless addressed soon, the chip industry labour gap risks undermining not only the billions of dollars in planned investment by companies but also the US grants aimed at boosting domestic production under the 2022 Chips and Science Act, according to the report.

The authors recommended a range of solutions, including continued government funding, expanded curriculum on semiconductors and earlier exposure to chip industry careers.

“There’s just not enough talent to go around,” said Taylor Roundtree, a partner at McKinsey who helped with the analysis. “People are realising that the potential gap is so large that they collectively do have to solve it.”

By 2030, about 74 per cent of the semiconductor industry’s unfilled roles will be in manufacturing and 60 per cent in engineering, the study found.

While Chips Act-funded programmes have helped to increase the number of technicians available to work at new plants, those initiatives have hardly made a dent in addressing the need for manufacturing and hardware engineers.

Already, nearly three-quarters of employers are reporting significant difficulty in hiring engineers, according to the survey, which canvassed semiconductor companies.

The root of the problem is that few US engineering students – only about 3 per cent – go on to work in the chip industry, with most opting for more lucrative software-related fields like AI.

The Chips Act provided the National Science Foundation with US$200 million through 2027 for workforce development through programmes that educate students and train new workers via an organisation called the National Network for Microelectronics Education.

The authors recommended keeping up the funding, though the report did not elaborate on extending those initiatives.

Ongoing efforts to increase interest in the industry have included programmes giving elementary school students in Arizona the chance to touch semiconductor equipment and try on a white bunny suit – the full-body coverall fab workers must wear to ensure no microscopic particles ruin the sensitive semiconductor manufacturing process.

“This is an industry that hasn’t been doing a significant build-out in the United States in decades,” Roundtree said. “High school guidance counsellors, college professors – this just isn’t a natural career for a lot of them to advise folks to look into.” BLOOMBERG

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Trump Claims Apple And Intel Struck A Major US Chip Manufacturing Deal

President Donald Trump announced today that Apple has finalized a historic deal to design and manufacture its next-generation chips using Intel’s facilities on American soil. Neither company has commented on the claim, but if true, this would be huge for Apple, which has spent years relying heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build the custom silicon powering its iPhones and Macs. It’s only a matter of time when we find out whether Trump’s strong-arming tech companies to repatriate their manufacturing in the United States truly pans out.

Again, assuming Trump’s post on Truth Social is accurate, the deal is the culmination of a yearlong pressure campaign led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who reportedly met with Apple leadership repeatedly to broker a domestic alliance with Intel. Rumors of a preliminary partnership had been circulating for months, so it’s possible that Trump’s post alludes to something real. Also In his post, President Trump heavily critiqued previous administrations for allowing foreign nations to dominate the semiconductor landscape, emphasizing his use of tariffs and economic incentives to force major tech players back to domestic supply chains.

For Intel, securing Apple as a foundry customer would be a monumental victory. Once the undisputed titan of the chip world with its “Intel Inside” branding, the company struggled for years to keep pace with foreign competitors as production moved overseas. Under the direction of former CEO Pat Gelsinger and current CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel aggressively overhauled its foundry division. The company successfully executed its ambitious roadmap to develop five manufacturing nodes in four years, culminating in its 18A process.

Insider reports suggest that Apple has already begun testing system-on-chips (SoCs) built on Intel’s updated 18A-P tech. Testing is slated to continue through the end of 2026, with full-scale production and initial deliveries for Apple’s M7 Mac chips targeted for late 2027, followed by next-generation iPhone chips built on Intel’s 14A node by 2028. Intel is expected to fulfill Apple’s domestic orders across its heavily
subsidized fabrication plants in Oregon, Arizona, and Ohio.

Also at play here is the ongoing financial entanglement between the federal government and Intel. In August last year, the U.S. government took an 10% equity stake in Intel via an $8.9 billion taxpayer investment. This capital injection combined funds originally earmarked through the CHIPS Act with resources from the military’s Secure Enclave program. In his statement, Trump explicitly tied the government’s stake to Intel’s recent financial turnaround, claiming the company’s valuation has soared from $100 billion to $600 billion due to the state’s intervention and subsequent high-profile contracts, which also include a partnership with Elon Musk’s TeraFab.

Shares of Intel are up more than 9% this morning on the heel’s of President Trump’s post. Apple’s stock is up around 0.33% at the time of this writing.

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Commerce, Taiwan Deal Pledges $500B to Expand US Chip Manufacturing – MeriTalk

Taiwan will commit at least $500 billion in combined direct investment and credit guarantees to expand semiconductor and advanced technology manufacturing in the United States under a new trade agreement signed Thursday. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce said that the deal aims to “drive a massive reshoring of America’s semiconductor sector” that will “strengthen U.S. economic resilience, create high-paying jobs, and bolster national security.” 

The deal would also lower tariffs on imports from Taiwan to no higher than 15% – down from the current 20% rate of “reciprocal tariffs” for most Taiwanese imports. 

“Semiconductors are vital for America’s industrial, technological, and military strength. Yet, for far too long, the Washington establishment allowed this strategic sector to move offshore, leaving the United States dependent on foreign manufacturers and brittle global supply chains,” the Commerce Department said. “The Trump Administration is committed to reversing that trend.” 

Taiwanese investment will come in two tracks: a $250 billion direct investment in building and expanding U.S. advanced semiconductors, energy, and artificial intelligence production and innovation capacity; and at least $250 billion in credit guarantees to drive investment by Taiwanese companies to support the creation and expansion of the full U.S. chips supply chain and ecosystem.  

The United States and Taiwan will also establish U.S.-based industrial parks.  

While no details were provided on what Taiwan semiconductor and technology companies will be involved, the country manufactures most of the world’s advanced chips. One company, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), is the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. 

TSMC, which has operations worldwide, received $6.6 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act from the Biden administration in late 2024.  

Under the agreement signed Thursday, future U.S. semiconductor tariffs will give Taiwanese chipmakers a break if they build in the United States, allowing duty-free imports tied to new U.S. capacity. Companies could import equipment and materials up to 2.5 times their planned output tariff-free during construction, and receive a reduced rate on imports above that limit. 

In addition, Taiwanese companies that have completed U.S. chip production projects will be able to import 1.5 times their new U.S. production capacity ?without tariffs.  

Commerce’s deal follows a White House memo allowing certain advanced semiconductor exports to China and other nations, provided that the United States gets a 25% cut of those profits. 

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Trump meets Intel CEO, hails US-Made Sub-2 Nanometer Chip, links manufacturing push to tariff policy

ANI |
Updated: Jan 09, 2026 08:39 IST

Washington DC [US], January 9 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has hailed chipmaker Intel for launching an advanced semiconductor product manufactured entirely in the United States, calling it a major achievement for American industry and a validation of his administration’s aggressive trade and manufacturing policies.
In a social media post, President Trump said he had a “great meeting” with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, praising the company’s technological progress and its commitment to domestic manufacturing.
Trump stated that Intel has launched the first sub-2 nanometer CPU processor that has been designed, built, and packaged in the USA.
“I just finished a great meeting with the very successful Intel CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. Intel just launched the first SUB 2 NANOMETER CPU PROCESSOR designed, built, and packaged right here in the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote in the post.
The US President also highlighted the financial gains made by the US government through its ownership position in Intel. According to Trump, the United States government is a shareholder in the company and has already earned tens of billions of dollars for the American people in just four months through this stake.
“The United States Government is proud to be a Shareholder of Intel, and has already made, through its U.S.A. ownership position, Tens of Billions of Dollars for the American People – IN JUST FOUR MONTHS. We made a GREAT Deal, and so did Intel,” Trump said.
Trump further asserted that his administration is determined to bring leading-edge chip manufacturing back to America, adding that the progress made by Intel demonstrates that this objective is being achieved.
“Our Country is determined to bring leading edge Chip Manufacturing back to America, and that is exactly what is happening!!!” the President added.
Echoing Trump‘s comments, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also shared a social media post expressing appreciation for the support received from the US leadership.
“Honored and delighted to have the full support and encouragement of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @CommerceGovSecretary @howardlutnick as we bring leading edge chip manufacturing back to America,” Tan said in his post.

He added that Intel is now shipping its latest Core Ultra Series 3 CPU processors, which are designed, manufactured, and packaged in the USA using the most advanced semiconductor technology.
“@intel is now shipping the latest Core Ultra Series 3 CPU processors – designed, manufactured and packaged with the most advanced semiconductor technology, right here in the USA,” the Intel CEO stated.
President Trump has repeatedly linked such developments to his administration’s trade policies. Since beginning his second term as President, Trump has pursued aggressive trade measures, including the imposition of tariffs, with the stated objective of boosting domestic manufacturing in the United States.
Trump has imposed tariffs on countries that were major exporters to the US, including India and China.
On India, Trump has already imposed 50 per cent tariffs on goods entering the United States since August 2025.
In another social media post, Trump cited recent economic data to argue that tariffs have strengthened the US economy and improved national security.
He claimed that the United States has recorded its lowest trade deficit since 2009 and that the figure is continuing to decline.
“Numbers released today show that the United States of America has the lowest Trade Deficit since 2009, and going even lower,” Trump said.
He further stated that the nation’s gross domestic product is predicted to come in at over 5 per cent, even after what he described as a 1.5 per cent loss due to a Democrat “Shutdown.”
Trump attributed these outcomes directly to his tariff policies, saying they have “rescued” the US economy and national security. He also urged the Supreme Court to take note of what he described as historic achievements before issuing what he called its most important decision ever.
“These incredible numbers, and the unprecedented SUCCESS of our Country, are a direct result of TARIFFS, which have rescued our Economy and National Security. I hope the Supreme Court is aware of these Historic, Country saving achievements prior to the issuance of their most important (ever!) Decision. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.” (ANI)

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