Inside Apple’s Multibillion-Dollar Push to Make Chips in the U.S. | WSJ

TL;DR

Apple is pressuring suppliers to build chip infrastructure in the U.S. because Taiwan's dominance creates catastrophic supply chain risk.

Key Points

• 1.Apple committed $600 billion in U.S. investment over four years, using its leverage as the world's largest chip buyer to push suppliers like Global Wafers and TSMC to build domestic capacity.
• 2.TSMC's Arizona site spans 1,000+ acres and is projected to cost $165 billion, but only one fab is currently operational — chips made there are still a generation behind Taiwan's, and matching Taiwan's output could take a decade or more.
• 3.ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines — the core of chip patterning — cost $100–$400 million each, yet only 12% of ASML's sales went to the U.S. last year.
• 4.Foxcon's Houston facility is now assembling Mac Minis (thousands per week), marking the first time cameras were allowed inside — but Apple sells under 1 million Mac Minis yearly versus 240 million iPhones, making this a tiny fraction of its footprint.
• 5.Apple's history of U.S. manufacturing announcements, like the 2013 Mac Pro in Austin, shows a pattern of commitments tied to tariff relief rather than full-scale reshoring.