Apple will buy processors from factory in Arizona, CEO Tim Cook reportedly says

Apple will buy some of its chips from a factory in Arizona, Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month at an internal company meeting in Germany, according to Bloomberg News.

Apple currently sources all of its processors from factories in Taiwan. It designs its own chips and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company manufactures the A-series and M-series processors that power iPhones and Mac computers.

If Apple were to buy processors manufactured in the U.S., it would represent a significant diversification in Apple’s supply chain away from Taiwan.

“We’ve already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in ’24, so we’ve got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less,” Cook said, according to Bloomberg.

TSMC previously announced plans for a single factory in Arizona to open in 2024 focusing on chips that use the latest manufacturing technology. TSMC said earlier this month that it is planning a second chip factory in Arizona because of “strong customer demand.”

Intel also operates chip foundries in Arizona and has said it wants to win Apple’s business for its new foundry division that manufactures other companies’ chips. It’s also planning to build additional fabs in Ohio.

U.S. politicians have worried that having companies like Apple source advanced and expensive parts from Taiwan could present risk and create chaos if China ever invaded the island nation. Cook reportedly said during the meeting that 60% of the world’s processors come out of Taiwan.

Apple does the vast majority of its final assembly for iPhones and other devices on China’s mainland, but it sources parts from many different countries, including the U.S. and Taiwan. Cook reportedly said that Apple was considering buying chips from factories in Europe, too.

Congress passed the CHIPS Act earlier this year, which includes about $50 billion in financial incentives to semiconductor companies for building factories on U.S. soil.

An Apple representative declined to comment.