AMD discloses for the first time the chip costs at TSMC's U.S. factory: 5-20% higher, prioritizing supply chain flexibility

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, AMD (AMD.US) CEO Lisa Su stated that the chips obtained from supplier Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US) are more expensive to produce at Taiwan Semiconductor's factory in Arizona.

Lisa Su mentioned at an artificial intelligence event in Washington on Wednesday that the cost of chips produced in the U.S. will be "more than 5% but not exceeding 20%" compared to similar components produced in Taiwan. She stated that AMD expects to produce its first batch of chips at Taiwan Semiconductor's Arizona factory by the end of this year.

In an interview after her speech, Su said that the additional expenditure is worthwhile as the company is diversifying its supply of critical chips. This will make the industry less susceptible to the kind of disruptions experienced during the pandemic.

"We have to think about the resilience of the supply chain," she said. "We learned a lot during the pandemic."

Su told the audience at the forum that in terms of yield metrics (i.e., the number of quality chips produced per batch), the new factory in Arizona is already comparable to the factories in Taiwan.

The event was co-hosted by the All-In Podcast team and a coalition of tech leaders and lawmakers known as the Hill and Valley Forum. Former President Donald Trump and other government officials also attended the event to discuss the launch of the "Artificial Intelligence Action Plan."

Su expressed her support for government collaboration with the industry and emphasized the importance of making artificial intelligence a government priority. She said, "What I really like about the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan is that it is very actionable."

AMD and its larger competitor NVIDIA (NVDA.US) recently received exemptions from restrictions on exporting certain types of artificial intelligence accelerators to China. It is still unclear how many licenses will be issued and how long these companies will be allowed to export chips to China, the largest semiconductor market.

Previous U.S. administrations have implemented increasingly strict regulations on exporting such chips to China, citing national security concerns. These regulations have resulted in U.S. chip manufacturers losing billions of dollars in revenue.

Su stated that future policies need to strike a balance. Allowing exports to U.S. allies will help ensure that American technology remains the foundation of global artificial intelligence systems. "This is a tricky issue," she said. "I think the government is doing a good job of working with us."

During the event, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was asked about the government's policy on exporting artificial intelligence chips. She said, "We are happy to see allies purchasing large amounts of chips and forming large clusters." She also mentioned that the scale of these server computer clusters and U.S. companies' access to them will be influencing factors.

Lisa Su added during her speech that she believes the demand for artificial intelligence chips remains high, mentioning the investments in artificial intelligence by OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk. AMD is the closest competitor to NVIDIA in the artificial intelligence accelerator market, which can help develop and run artificial intelligence models