KJZZ Interview: TSMC will invest another $100 billion in Arizona. How significant will it be for the state?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, said it’ll invest another $100 billion in Arizona. That money will be used to build potentially four more manufacturing facilities.
TSMC last year broke ground on a third fabrication site; the first one was announced in 2020.
Steve Zylstra joined The Show to talk more about this. He’s the president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.
Full conversation
MARK BRODIE: Steve, good morning.
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Good morning to you.
MARK BRODIE: So what is the significance of another $100 billion investment from this particular company here in Arizona?
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Well, first of all, I think it’s the most exciting economic development story ever for Arizona. This brings the total investment to $265 billion. The $165 billion they originally committed was the largest foreign direct investment in the history of the United States, so this adds to it. And as a consequence, they’re going to build four additional fabs and create, in my view, outside of Taiwan, the largest semiconductor complex in the world.
MARK BRODIE: OK, so you mentioned the word fab. And for folks who are maybe not in the tech world, what are they going to be spending this money doing?
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Well, first of all, they originally announced the $165 billion to produce six fabs — fabrication facilities that make chips — as well as two packaging facilities. These are sort of value-added facilities that add the other components alongside the chips. And then an R&D center. So this additional $100 billion is going to be used to produce four additional fabrication facilities.
The first one is live, the second one goes live in I think the second quarter of 2027, and then the third one will go live in 2030. This is going to be eight to 10 years of construction of facilities here in Arizona. So not only does it create these high-paying, high-quality jobs, but it creates a massive amount of construction jobs for a long period of time.
MARK BRODIE: When you talk about the jobs that are going to be in the fabrication facilities once they’re up and running, are those jobs that Arizonans generally get? Are they jobs that TSMC is bringing in workers from Taiwan or elsewhere to take?
STEVE ZYLSTRA: So TSMC has had to bring in some specialized labor from Taiwan because they have the most sophisticated chip processing techniques in the world, and only certain people are aware of those. They’re very, very proprietary. But first of all, the existing operation employs about 3,500 people, the bulk of which are Arizonans. A lot of these jobs, all you need is a high school degree.
In fact, GCU, ASU and NAU are offering an 11-week course for semiconductor fab factory jobs free of charge. So there’s lots of opportunity for Arizonans. By the time these first three fabs are completed, there’ll be 6,000 permanent jobs there.
MARK BRODIE: And why do you think it’s important that Arizona is getting this investment instead of, you know, anywhere else? Why is it good for Arizona that TSMC is doing what it’s doing here?
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Well, a whole wide variety of reasons. First of all, the high-paying, high-quality jobs that it creates, the addition to the tax base. Think about the investments that are being made, the investments that are going to be made in infrastructure here. So if you’re an economic developer from the Arizona Commerce Authority, or the city of Phoenix, or the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, this is the best possible outcome you could ask for.
MARK BRODIE: Does it matter reputationally that this is happening here? Like, has this led to other either semiconductor manufacturers or other tech companies saying, “Oh, I hadn’t really thought of Phoenix before. Maybe TSMC sees something here, maybe I should too?”
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Yes. Well, Nvidia and Apple are now here as a consequence of TSMC being here. TSMC itself brought 50 of its supply chain companies to Arizona, again creating additional jobs in communities around Arizona, all the way down to Casa Grande. So, yes, it’s having an incredible economic impact here on Arizona.
MARK BRODIE: Is it your expectation that there will be more of these announcements, that TSMC is spending more money here, building more facilities here? Or do you think this is kind of it for now?
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Well, I can’t predict that, but I did think that they were going to build more than their original announcement just because of the size of the property that they bought. Their first piece of property was something like two square miles, and they’ve been adding additional properties along the way. So who knows what the future might bring. But nonetheless, it’s exciting for all of us.
MARK BRODIE: All right. That is Steve Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. Steve, thanks so much for your insights. I appreciate it.
STEVE ZYLSTRA: Thank you for having me.