TSMC to triple investment in Arizona chip plant to NT$1.2 trillion

2022-12-07

Chipmaking giant TSMC has announced it will triple its investment in the U.S. state of Arizona to about NT$1.2 trillion. The announcement was made at a ceremony marking the receipt of the first batch of equipment at its Arizona fab, which is scheduled to start operations in 2024. The additional investment is set to build a second fab specializing in the more advanced 3-nanometer chips.

Right after landing, U.S. President Joe Biden headed straight to TSMC’s fab in Arizona.

Accompanied by TSMC Chair Mark Liu and CEO C. C. Wei, Biden inspected the company’s facilities. The main event was a ceremony to celebrate the plant’s receipt of its first batch of equipment.

Mark Liu
TSMC chair
This state-of-the-art facility behind us is a testimony that TSMC is also taking a giant step forward to help build a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem in the U.S.

After Liu gave the opening remarks, Biden took the floor.

Joe Biden
US president
TSMC had made a US$12 billion investment here in Phoenix to build the first fab to make semiconductors in the U.S. Now the equipment is ready to move in. Next year, commercial operations are going to begin.

Biden announced that TSMC was to invest US$40 million – or about NT$1.2 trillion – to build a second fab in Arizona.

Joe Biden
US president
TSMC will construct a second fab here in Phoenix to build chips, 3-nano chips. These are the most advanced semiconductor chips on the plant. Apple had to buy all the advanced chips from overseas. Now they are going to bring more of their supply chain home. It could be a game changer.

The venue was packed with big names. They included TSMC founder Morris Chang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Joe Biden
US president
Tim Cook of Apple. Where are you, Tim? He buys a few of these old chips. And he’s a small customer here. I hope they are treating you well.

Tim Cook
Apple CEO
As many of you know, we work with TSMC to manufacture the chips that power our products all over the world, and we look forward to expanding this work in the years to come as TSMC forms new and deeper roots in America.

Lisa Su
Advanced Micro Devices CEO
Well, everybody needs semiconductors. I think semiconductors really power all of these devices and services. So we are proud to be focused on high-performance and adaptive computing.

Jensen Huang
Nvidia CEO
We, together as an industry, have to own the cost of manufacturing together. No one company can own all the cost. We all have to share the burden of advancing technology.

Back in 2020, TSMC first announced plans to build a fab in Arizona, which is currently under construction. The fab is expected to start producing 4-nanometer chips in 2024. More recently, the TSMC has announced plans to also start producing 3-nanometer chips in 2026.

拜登親出席台積鳳凰城晶圓廠移機典禮冠蓋雲集

2022-12-07

美國總統拜登稍早搭機抵達亞利桑納州，出席台積電鳳凰城晶圓廠移機典禮，他在致詞中除了感謝台積電，也提到台積電將在當地興建第二座晶圓廠，生產3奈米晶片。而這次典禮可說是冠蓋雲集，除了台積電創辦人張忠謀，還有蘋果公司執行長庫克等都出席。

美國總統拜登搭機飛抵亞利桑納，馬不停蹄前往台積電鳳凰城晶圓廠。

拜登在台積電董事長劉德音和總裁魏哲家的陪同下，一同參觀廠區，而這天的重頭戲，就是台積電鳳凰城晶圓廠移機典禮。

[[台積電董事長劉德音]]
“我們身後這座先進工廠證明了台積電向前邁出巨大一步，協助在美國打造生機勃勃的半導體生態系”

開場先由台積電董事長致歡迎詞，接著換拜登上台。

[[美國總統拜登]]
“台積電已投資120億美元於鳳凰城興建首座晶圓廠，在美國製造半導體，現在設備已準備好移入，明年就會開始商轉”

他還宣布，台積電將在當地建設第二座晶圓廠，總投資金額將來到400億美元、超過台幣1.2兆。

[[美國總統拜登]]
“(台積電)將興建第二座晶圓廠，生產3奈米晶片，這些是世界上最先進的半導體晶片，蘋果從海外採購這些先進晶片，未來我們將把更多供應鏈搬回家，這將會改變遊戲規則”

活動會場冠蓋雲集，除了台積電創辦人張忠謀親自出席，現場還有蘋果執行長庫克、超微半導體董事長蘇姿丰、輝達執行長黃仁勳等產業巨頭通通到齊。

[[美國總統拜登]]
“蘋果公司的庫克你在哪，他買了一些小晶片，他是這裡的一個小買家，我希望他們沒有虧待你”

[[蘋果執行長庫克]]
“很多人都知道，我們與台積電合作製造晶片，台積電為蘋果至世界各國的產品提供動力，我們期待在未來幾年，能擴大這項產業，因為台積電在美國亞利桑那州紮根”

[[超微半導體董事長蘇姿丰]]
“每個人都需要半導體，我認為半導體真的能驅動所有的設備及服務，所以這次我們很自豪地說，AMD更能在全球致力專心地在高效能運算發展”

[[輝達執行長黃仁勳]]
“同為半導體產業的一員，我們必須共同分攤一間公司的成本，沒有一間公司能承擔所有的成本，同時也必須共享先進的技術”

台積電是在2020年前美國總統川普任內時，宣布至亞利桑納設廠。目前興建中的第一期工程預計2024年量產4奈米，而最新宣布的3奈米廠則預計2026年投產。

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85C Bakery Cafe draws long lines at new US location in Phoenix, Arizona

Taiwanese food is becoming popular around the world, and several chains have already set up shop in the U.S. Recently, 85C Bakery Cafe opened a branch in Phoenix, Arizona, where it sells a range of Taiwanese bread. The store drew long lines at its grand opening, and business is only expected to get better.

Yang Szu-min
FTV reporter
There’s a long line at this shop in Phoenix, Arizona. People are waiting more than 10 minutes to get inside, all so they can eat Taiwanese bread like this.

Here at this Taiwanese bakery cafe, there’s everything from cheese dogs and pork floss buns to traditional pineapple buns. The shop is filled with locals eager to try something new. It’s also attracted Taiwanese expats, who rushed to this Phoenix location for a taste of home.

Customer
Taiwanese bread is softer, more fragrant. And it’s not as greasy.

Customer
They have one in Los Angeles. That’s why I tried before.

Customer
We drove by and decided to try it because the line was so long.

Fresh baked goods are packed in a box. The cashiers quickly ring up sales, sending customers out with piles of bread. Already there are 36 staff on the roster, but that’s not enough to handle the crowd. The manager plans to add 20 employees to keep up with demand. With TSMC engineers relocating to Phoenix, the future of the store is looking bright.

Monica Chua
85C Bakery Cafe area manager
Those technicians from Taiwan, they miss the flavors of their homeland. Our sales are even better than expected. We never imagined there would be so many customers.

In addition to 85C Bakery Cafe, fellow Taiwanese brand Meet Fresh sells treats in the same plaza. Elsewhere in Phoenix, two Sharetea shops sell handshaken drinks, a hit with young Americans.

He builds a drink with a skillful air, pouring rich matcha over brown sugar pearls. It’s the favorite beverage of this young local.

Customer
Like all of our hangouts are based on, “Oh, you want to hang out and get boba?” I try to get as much as I can.

Staff
A lot of our younger generation in the States are really accepting of the other cultures and foods.

All around the world, people are falling in love with Taiwanese cuisine. Food businesses are planting their flags in the U.S., to take aim at a hungry market.

2022-12-07

Defense ministry to announce plans for extending military training duration by year’s end

Details on the government’s plan to extend the duration of Taiwan’s mandatory military training could be released before the end of the year. That’s according to defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, who on Wednesday answered lawmakers’ questions on the matter. The ministry is widely expected to lengthen the duration of training from the current four months to one year. It’s also planning on training more reservists under an updated refresher program that was launched earlier this year.

Defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng on Wednesday said he hoped an announcement will be made by the end of the year on extending the duration of compulsory military service.

Chiu Chen-yuan
TPP lawmaker
Regardless of whether the local elections were a factor in the timetable, what’s the current situation regarding the extension of conscription?

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
Extending the period of military service would have great repercussions. Right now there is already a preliminary plan. We’ll work on the matter at full throttle, to hopefully finalize it by year’s end.

Chiu added that a government reshuffle would not bring changes to the government’s plans. He added that next year, the ministry will widen the scope of its training program for reservists.

Back in March, the government had launched a reformed reservist training program. This year, the program had 15,000 participants, a number that’s expected to go up to 22,000 in 2023. There will still be 96,000 participants undergoing the old regiment, which lasts five or seven days.

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
After assessing the situation, we will increase the number of reservist teams and look at where we can source soldiers. That way we can increase capacity.

The 14-day training regime features 28 hours of shooting practice instead of 12. This year, 13.7% of participants passed the end-of-training exams, up from 5.9% last year. The pass rate for combat skills also went up, from 5.5% to 9.5%.

Lo Chih-cheng
DPP lawmaker
The new training program has been effective at raising our combat readiness. Why don’t we move to make it so that all reservists go through the new regime instead?

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
Most of the instructors are new troops, and they also need to train new recruits. There’s insufficient training capacity.

Determined to boost Taiwan’s defenses, the Ministry of National Defense is working to strengthen its reservist forces to safeguard the country.

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Taiwanese couple designs and hand makes beautiful phone and camera accesories

Today we meet a Taiwanese couple who make colorful straps that can be attached to cameras and smart phones. The couple loves travel and photography, but several years ago they noticed that there weren’t many straps in the market to choose from. In 2008, they decided to design their own. Since then, they have branched out to make phone straps, pet collars, and more. FTV reporter Stephany Yang met the couple to find out more.

This is Sofia Huang and Maxie Lee, a couple who love travel and photography. In 2008, they searched for straps to attach to their cameras, but couldn’t find many on the market that caught their eye. So, they started to make their own. These camera straps come in different designs and colors. All the materials are from Taiwan and are suited for use in Taiwan’s climate.

Maxie Lee
Co-founder
In the beginning, it was because we really liked taking pictures, but we felt there were no appealing accessories. So we used concepts related to clothing design to make camera-related accessories. Speaking of Taiwanese characteristics, our aim when we design is not just to be only a graphics application. We all know that Taiwan is a manufacturing country. When our next generation of crafters is designing products, they have to think about how to make suitable items. We spent a lot of time studying combinations of materials and working out how to improve the straps’ usability.

Sofia Huang
Co-founder
In the process of designing, we hope to convey the warmth put into making a handmade product. When we choose the fabric, we will choose something more distinctive and suitable to the climate of Taiwan. For example, we choose vegan leather, which is suitable for Taiwan’s climate. That is, it won’t cause mold or cleaning problems. It is also relatively comfortable to use.

Before making camera straps, Sofia was a project planner, and Maxie, was a product designer. They said creating these straps was very laborious and required lots of hard work, but due to their passion for travel, they persevered, and continued with their innovative ideas and the creation of new products. In 2013, they decided to branch out and make straps that can be attached to phones. All of their products are handmade.

Maxie Lee
Co-founder
After customers came, we found that over the past few years, demand for cameras changed to demand for mobile phones, so we gradually extended our designs to different product lines. Now we have some mobile phone accessories. We know people are highly dependent on mobile phones in Taiwan. Compared to mass-produced items made by machines, we have to spend a lot more time making our products. We want each piece or leather item to be in different colors, so the time invested is longer than ordinary mass-produced products.

Sofia Huang
Co-founder
We really do it all by hand. We need to be clear about our goals and direction. When we adhere to the branding route, the quality, production, and even style and demands we place on ourselves have to be at an even higher level.

The two are also cat lovers. In 2022, they began designing collars for cats in hopes of creating comfortable and eye-catching collars for their furry friends.

Sofia Huang
Co-founder
We have cats in our family, and we couldn’t find good-looking collars that we liked for them. That’s why we created them ourselves. We used mountain climbing ropes to make it cooler for a cat to wear. Then, they’re more cat-friendly and easier to use. It is different from the traditional cat leads with the buckles.

Maxie Lee
Co-founder
Consumers in Taiwan are very friendly, and they are also very willing to try new things. They just want products with different styles or qualities. So we have started to shape a brand with a different personality in the past two to three years

The designers say they get their inspiration from their daily lives and travel. They hope to continue to make colorful and beautiful designs to help people travel both safely and fashionably.

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TSMC to triple investment in Arizona chip plant to NT$1.2 trillion