Nvidia and TSMC unveil first US-made Blackwell chip wafer

Driving the news: Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang visited TSMC’s semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix on Friday to announce the breakthrough.

• “You have built something incredible, but you will realize in time that you are part of something historic,” Huang told several hundred TSMC employees gathered to celebrate the announcement.
• “The most important chip is now produced in America,” Huang said.

Between the lines: Huang praised President Trump and repeatedly made clear that this is just the “beginning” of AI-related manufacturing in the United States.

• Huang has repeatedly praised Trump’s vision of reshoring manufacturing.

What they say: “Nvidia and TSMC are working together to build the infrastructure that powers the world’s AI factories, right here in America,” Nvidia said in a blog post.

• “TSMC Arizona is expected to create thousands of high-tech jobs and attract a broad ecosystem of suppliers,” Nvidia and TSMC said in a joint statement.
• “Today we laid the foundation (for the United States) to lead the AI ​​race at the infrastructure level,” Huang told the crowd, adding that Nvidia plans to spend half a trillion dollars on AI-related infrastructure in the coming years.

Yes, but: The wafer is a crucial first step in reshoring critical chip production to the United States, but there is still a long way to go before the country’s chip demand can be freed from its dependence on foreign companies and factories.

The bottom line: Intense efforts to relocate key parts of the AI ​​economy are beginning to bear fruit.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.