Nvidia has begun producing its Blackwell AI chips in the United States, marking a significant development in the country’s chipmaking industry.
Nvidia announced that it has started producing its Blackwell AI GPUs at TSMC’s plant in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is the world’s biggest chipmaker. The production at TSMC’s Arizona factory is a notable step, as the company began producing chips using the 4nm process there in January. Furthermore, TSMC has plans to make chips with the more efficient 2nm technology by the end of the decade.
The Blackwell chips being produced use TSMC’s custom 4NP process, according to Nvidia’s website. While Nvidia doesn’t specify which Blackwell chips it has started producing at TSMC’s plant, or whether it includes the latest Blackwell Ultra GB300 chip revealed earlier this year.
In addition to the production in Arizona, companies within the state will handle the packaging and testing of the Blackwell chips. This localized approach aims to streamline the production process.
Nvidia is also expanding its operations in another state, announcing that it is teaming up with the electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Wistron to build supercomputer production plants in Texas. The company expects mass production at the two plants to “ramp up” over the next 12 to 15 months.
Nvidia believes that manufacturing its AI chips and supercomputers in the US will have significant economic benefits. “Manufacturing NVIDIA AI chips and supercomputers for American AI factories is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and drive trillions of dollars in economic security over the coming decades,” Nvidia says in its announcement.
This development is part of a larger investment in US chipmaking. Last month, TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in US chipmaking, underscoring the growing commitment to developing the country’s semiconductor industry.
