On Monday, Apple announced plans to invest more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years.
This is the "largest-ever" spending commitment that Apple has made in the US, supporting "a wide range of initiatives" focused on artificial intelligence, chip manufacturing, advanced research and development, and worker training. About 20,000 jobs will be created over those four years, Apple said, "of which the vast majority will be focused on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning."
Apple's plans include building a 250,000-square-foot server-manufacturing facility in Houston—which will open in 2026 and "play a key role in powering Apple Intelligence" and supporting AI cloud computing, Apple said. The tech giant will also "continue expanding data center capacity in North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada," Apple's blog said.
Perhaps most significant among investments is the plan to double Apple's US Advanced Manufacturing Fund (AMF). That fund largely promotes "advanced manufacturing and skills development," Apple said. But in spiking AMF investments from $5 to $10 billion, Apple also committed to spending several billion on advanced chips produced at an Arizona fab built by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
That plant is expected to help secure America's domestic supply of advanced chips, and Apple confirmed that "mass production of Apple chips" previously reliant on access to TSMC's Taiwan packaging facilities began last month in Arizona. In December, TSMC Arizona Chairman Rick Cassidy told CNBC that after moving past forecast delays, the Arizona fab is currently "right on par" with Taiwan fabs where CNBC noted "about 92 percent of the world’s most advanced chips are currently made." Apple's investments could help redirect some of TSMC's Taiwanese business toward the US.