US wants to become more self-sufficient in chip production

As you may know, China is putting a lot of effort in setting up a homegrown chip industry. The country wants to reduce its reliance on foreign countries, by being able to make its own NAND, DRAM and CPU chips. It seems the Trump administration now has the same goal as the US government wants domestic production of processors.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the US government is in talks with Intel, Samsung and TSMC to expand US-based chip production. Intel CEO Bob Swan seems eager to participate, and rumors are swirling around that TSMC has been talking to Apple and critical government agencies about setting up a new factory in the US:

TSMC, which makes Apple’s A-series chips, has reportedly been talking to Apple and critical government agencies about building a factory in the US. And, according to the Journal, Intel is eager to participate. “We’re very serious about this,” Intel VP Greg Slater told WSJ.

Without more detail about these talks and plans, it’s reasonable to assume chipmakers are simply responding to the potentially-lucrative business of defense contracts. As the Journal points out, Intel CEO Bob Swan sent a letter to the Department of Defense on April 28th saying that “it is in the best interest of the United States and of Intel” to explore operating a commercial chip foundry in the US.

More at The Verge.