TSMC could open facilities for manufacturing chips in Germany, but right now, it's "too early to say."
What you need to know
- Chip manufacturer TSMC is considering opening a chip manufacturing fab in Germany.
- It would be the company's first manufacturing facility in Europe.
- TSMC is "in the preliminary stage of reviewing whether to go to Germany," according to the company's chairman.
TSMC, one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, could potentially open a fab in Germany. If the company does open a manufacturing facility in Germany, it would be its first in Europe. The company's chairman, Mark Liu, discussed the possibility in TSMC's annual shareholder's meeting, according to Nikkei (via Tom's Hardware).
"We are in the preliminary stage of reviewing whether to go to Germany," said Liu. "It is still very early, but we are seriously evaluating it, and [a decision] will depend on our customers' needs."
While TSMC could eventually open a factory in Germany, nothing is set in stone. "We continue to communicate with our major clients in Germany to see whether this is most important and effective for our clients," said Liu (via Reuters). "It's too early to say."
Opening a factory in Germany would help TSMC spread out its manufacturing efforts. TSMC's upcoming factory in Arizona will also diversify the company's chip manufacturing.
In contrast with any potential European facility that is in preliminary stages, TSMC is already planning to make a 5nm-capable TSMC facility in Arizona.
As pointed out by Tom's Hardware, building chips in Germany would have a major hurdle to overcome. At the moment, all of TSMC's testing and packaging facilities are in Taiwan. That would mean that the company would have to make chips in Germany, ship them to Asia, and then send them elsewhere.
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