NVIDIA Corp. has unveiled its first domestically produced Blackwell wafer, manufactured at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s Phoenix facility, underscoring skyrocketing competition for artificial intelligence (AI) computing power.
The production milestone reflects intensifying efforts across the tech industry to satisfy AI developers’ insatiable appetite for processing capabilities as companies race to create systems capable of matching or surpassing human intelligence.
The chipmaker framed the U.S. manufacturing feat as a strategic boost to American technological infrastructure.
“This is a historic moment for several reasons. It’s the very first time in recent American history that the single most important chip is being manufactured here in the United States by the most advanced fab, by TSMC, here in the United States,” NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. “This is the vision of President Trump of reindustrialization — to bring back manufacturing to America, to create jobs, of course, but also, this is the single most vital manufacturing industry and the most important technology industry in the world.”
TSMC’s Arizona manufacturing hub will produce cutting-edge semiconductors at two-, three- and four-nanometer processes, as well as A16 chips critical for AI applications, telecommunications infrastructure and high-performance computing platforms, according to NVIDIA.
The surge in domestic chip production reflects a wave of major partnerships between AI companies and semiconductor manufacturers that include NVIDIA, AMD, and Broadcom.
The momentum extends beyond individual companies. TSMC, the world’s leading advanced chip manufacturer, raised its full-year revenue outlook Thursday following record profits that exceeded analyst expectations. It cited robust expectations for continued AI spending growth.
TSMC Arizona CEO Ray Chuang called the first Blackwell-produced chip in the U.S. a testament to the company’s manufacturing prowess and long-standing partnership with NVIDIA. “This milestone is built on three decades of partnership with NVIDIA — pushing the boundaries of technology together — and on the unwavering dedication of our employees and the local partners who helped to make TSMC Arizona possible.”
The Arizona facility’s role in advanced chip production extends beyond NVIDIA’s designs. In April, TSMC announced it would manufacture AMD’s sixth-generation Epyc processor, codenamed Venice, at the Phoenix location. This marks the first high-performance computing CPU to be taped out on TSMC’s advanced 2-nanometer process technology.
AMD CEO Lisa Su acknowledged a trade-off inherent in domestic production, noting that chips manufactured at the Arizona facility would carry costs between 5% and 20% higher than those produced at TSMC’s Taiwan operations. Despite the premium, Su characterized the investment as strategically sound.
“It’s a very good investment to ensure that we have American manufacturing and resiliency,” Su said, reflecting the semiconductor industry’s broader shift toward reducing geographic concentration of chip production.
The production of the first domestically manufactured Blackwell chip wafer represents a significant step forward in deepening the integration of AI and semiconductor technologies, with advanced military and defense applications forming the strategic foundation of the convergence. The synergy between robust domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity and cutting-edge AI capabilities is poised to accelerate progress in both fields, elevating each to unprecedented levels of capability and influence.
