Arizona is becoming a more important part of Apple’s semiconductor supply chain, but the full local chain is not yet in place. TSMC is fabricating Apple-related chips at its Arizona operation; Amkor is building a nearby facility intended to package and test chips; and Apple is a major customer of both companies and says it is investing in Amkor’s project. The distinction matters: wafer production is happening, while Amkor’s Arizona packaging campus is still under construction, with production expected in 2028.
What each company does in Arizona
- Apple designs chips and buys manufacturing services. It does not operate the Arizona fab or Amkor campus. Apple is TSMC’s customer and has committed to be Amkor’s first and largest customer; Apple also says it is investing in Amkor’s facility. Apple’s 2023 announcement describes the customer relationship.
- TSMC fabricates wafers. It runs the Arizona fab that turns chip designs into many copies on silicon wafers. TSMC owns and operates its facilities; Apple does not.
- Amkor packages and tests chips. Amkor is an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test provider, or OSAT. Its planned Peoria campus is a back-end manufacturing site, not another wafer fab.
The intended flow is Apple design → TSMC Arizona wafer fabrication → Amkor Arizona packaging and testing → downstream electronics manufacturing and product assembly. The first Arizona manufacturing link is active; the local Amkor link is a future capacity buildout.
How a chip moves from design to product
- Design: Apple develops the processor or system-on-chip and its specifications.
- Wafer fabrication: TSMC prints many chip designs onto silicon wafers using its manufacturing process. Its first Arizona fab is producing chips using N4 process technology.
- Dicing: The completed wafer is cut into individual dies, each containing a chip.
- Packaging and test: The die is connected to a package, tested, and prepared for use in a larger electronic system. Amkor’s planned Arizona facility is intended to provide this stage for chips made at the nearby TSMC site.
- Product manufacturing: Packaged components move into later manufacturing and product assembly, which may happen elsewhere.
Packaging is not simply a protective shell. It provides electrical connections, mechanical protection, and a path for managing heat. Advanced packages can also bring multiple dies or chiplets together at high density, affecting performance, power use, bandwidth, and product design.
What is operating now, and what is still planned?
As of August 18, 2026, Apple says TSMC’s Arizona operation is producing Apple-related chips. Apple reported in August 2025 that the site was producing tens of millions of chips for the company. In February 2026, Apple said it was on track to purchase well over 100 million advanced chips made at TSMC’s Arizona facility during 2026. Those are Apple’s company disclosures and expectation, not an independently audited total of Apple silicon production. Apple’s August 2025 update and February 2026 update provide the company’s statements.
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Amkor has broken ground on its Peoria campus, but the site is not yet an established high-volume packaging operation. Amkor’s groundbreaking announcement set 2028 as the expected start of production. Until the facility is built, equipped, qualified, and ramped, chips made at TSMC Arizona may still need packaging and testing elsewhere.
TSMC Arizona is also a multi-phase undertaking, not a single factory dedicated to Apple. TSMC has announced additional fabs, an R&D center, and advanced packaging capacity as part of its broader U.S. expansion. These are distinct activities: wafer fabrication, packaging and test, research, supplier operations, and final product assembly should not be conflated. TSMC’s Arizona announcement outlines the company’s expansion plans.
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What Amkor is building in Peoria
Amkor’s site is planned for Peoria, near TSMC’s north Phoenix-area operation. It is meant to add advanced packaging and test capacity close to the wafer source, rather than produce silicon wafers itself. That makes it the intended local back-end link in the three-company chain.
Amkor initially announced an approximately $2 billion project in November 2023, with more than 2,000 expected jobs. The plan later expanded: Amkor’s groundbreaking announcement described an Arizona campus investment that could reach approximately $7 billion and about 3,000 jobs, with production expected in 2028. These are project estimates and plans, not a statement that the full amount has already been spent or that the jobs already exist. See Amkor’s original facility announcement and its groundbreaking announcement.
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Amkor and TSMC have described their collaboration as a way to support a fuller U.S. manufacturing chain, from advanced silicon fabrication through packaged and tested devices. Their partnership announcements describe the planned relationship, not proof that Arizona packaging production is already running: the long-term partnership announcement and the Arizona collaboration update.
Why advanced packaging is strategically important
A wafer fab alone does not complete a processor supply chain. If wafers are fabricated in Arizona but shipped abroad for packaging and testing, important production steps remain dependent on overseas sites. Locating Amkor near TSMC is intended to reduce that geographic gap and improve coordination between front-end fabrication and back-end processing.
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Proximity does not guarantee a seamless or fully domestic chain. Wafers and packages still depend on specialized equipment, substrates, materials, engineering, transport, and successful process qualification. Amkor’s own project materials describe the facility’s intended role and expanded footprint in its U.S. advanced-packaging expansion announcement.
What “made in America” means here—and what it does not
A chip can be designed in one country, fabricated on a wafer in another, packaged and tested in a third, and incorporated into a finished product somewhere else. The Arizona initiative would bring more of those steps into the United States for some Apple-related chips, but it does not establish that every Apple chip or device is made domestically.
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- “Made in Arizona” can accurately describe wafer fabrication at TSMC’s Arizona operation for chips produced there.
- It would describe local packaging and test only after Amkor’s facility is operational and the relevant products are qualified there.
- It does not mean iPhones or other finished Apple products are assembled in Arizona; the announcements described here concern semiconductor production and packaging.
- It does not imply an all-U.S. supply chain. Equipment, silicon wafers, chemicals and gases, substrates, packaging materials, intellectual property, logistics, and final assembly may remain globally sourced or located.
Nor should Arizona output automatically be treated as identical to Apple chips made on the newest process available elsewhere. Product allocation, process node, qualification, and volume need to be established product by product. TSMC remains a Taiwan-based company, and its Arizona operations still rely on global technology, expertise, tools, and suppliers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the project developed
| Date | Development | Status and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| November 30, 2023 | Apple announced Amkor’s planned Peoria packaging facility and said it would be the first and largest customer. | Amkor’s initial estimate was approximately $2 billion and more than 2,000 jobs; these were project plans. Apple announcement. |
| 2024 | Amkor and TSMC announced collaboration to bring advanced packaging and test capabilities to Arizona. | Partnership and planned capability, not an operating-site announcement. TSMC announcement. |
| August 6, 2025 | Apple said TSMC Arizona was producing tens of millions of chips for Apple. | Company disclosure, not an independently audited industry total. Apple update. |
| October 2025 | Amkor broke ground on its Arizona campus and described an expanded potential investment of approximately $7 billion. | Amkor associated the expanded plan with about 3,000 jobs and expected production in 2028. Amkor groundbreaking release. |
| February 2026 | Apple said it was on track to purchase well over 100 million advanced chips made by TSMC in Arizona during 2026. | Apple’s stated expectation for the year, not an independently audited final count. Apple update. |
Why Arizona, and what remains difficult
The logic is ecosystem-based: TSMC’s large north Phoenix investment creates a local anchor, while Amkor can site a packaging operation close to its wafer source. Arizona has attracted semiconductor suppliers, research, and manufacturing investment. The region also has to support semiconductor operations with skilled labor, power, water, transport, equipment, and materials. The company announcements establish the manufacturing relationship, but do not by themselves provide a complete independent assessment of regional costs or impacts.
The initiative also reflects U.S. efforts to rebuild semiconductor capacity. More domestic production can reduce exposure to disruption at particular overseas links, especially packaging, but it cannot eliminate geopolitical or supply risk. A fab in Arizona does not remove dependence on TSMC’s technology and expertise, globally sourced inputs, or downstream manufacturing elsewhere.
What will show whether the Arizona chain is working?
- Production and yield: Whether TSMC output and packaged devices meet customer requirements at useful yields and volumes.
- Amkor’s ramp: Whether construction, equipment installation, qualification, pilot production, and high-volume manufacturing progress toward the expected 2028 start.
- Technology scope: Which package types the site qualifies, including whether it handles conventional packages, advanced 2.5D or 3D integration, chiplets, or multiple categories.
- Commercial viability: Whether Arizona costs can compete with established Asian manufacturing clusters, and whether customers beyond Apple use the site.
- Operational readiness: Whether trained staff, utilities, substrates, equipment, and logistics are available without constraining output.
- Customer concentration: Apple’s anchor demand can make investment more viable, but reliance on one customer also exposes the facility to Apple’s product cycles and sourcing decisions.
The project’s significance is therefore not measured by announced investment alone. Usable capacity depends on completing the site, qualifying processes and products, and sustaining reliable production at commercially workable cost.
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