Production of the cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch in Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, manufacturing facility. | Source: Apple
Apple has announced a new $100 billion commitment, adding to its U.S. investment that now totals $600 billion over the next four years. This week’s announcement includes the tech giant’s American Manufacturing Program (AMP), which promises that more of Apple’s supply chain and advanced manufacturing will take place in the U.S.
The AMP will also incentivize global companies to manufacture even more critical components in the United States.
“This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a press release.
As part of the program, Apple plans to directly hire 20,000 people in the U.S., mostly focused on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning.
Apple American Manufacturing Program
The first AMP partners announced as part of the program include Corning, Coherent, GlobalWafers America (GWA), Applied Materials, Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Amkor, and Broadcom.
The American Manufacturing Program will help fund a major expansion of Apple’s long-standing partnership with Corning, bringing advanced smartphone glass production to a factory in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The two companies will also open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center in Kentucky.
Apple has also entered into a new multiyear agreement with Coherent, a longstanding partner that produces the VCSEL lasers that enable features including Face ID at Coherent’s Sherman, Texas, facility.
In July, Apple also committed to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed by MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States, significantly expanding their flagship Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies will also establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California.
End-to-end American silicon supply chain
Apple says its U.S. silicon supply chain is on track to produce more than 19 billion chips for Apple products in 2025. That includes TSMC in Arizona, which is producing tens of millions of chips for Apple using one of the most advanced process technologies in America.
“We’re committed to supporting U.S. suppliers involved in every key stage of the chip-making process, from the earliest stages of research and development to final fabrication and packaging,” said Sabih Khan, Apple’s chief operating officer. “We want America to lead in this critical industry, and we’re expanding our efforts to grow a silicon manufacturing ecosystem that will benefit innovators across America.”
Apple is partnering with GlobalWafers America in Sherman, Texas, to produce advanced wafers for use in U.S.-based semiconductor fabs for the first time. American chip fabs like TSMC in Phoenix, Arizona, and Texas Instruments in Sherman, Texas, will use GWA’s 300mm wafers to produce chips for iPhone and iPad devices sold in the U.S. and around the world. GWA uses silicon from U.S. sources, including from Corning’s Hemlock Semiconductor.
Apple is also partnering directly with Applied Materials to boost the production of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in the U.S. The Applied site in Austin, Texas, is a pivotal hub for manufacturing cutting-edge chip equipment.
Another aspect of Apple’s AMP is a new commitment with Texas Instruments (TI), which will support additional tool installations at its facility in Lehi, Utah, and a new facility in Sherman, Texas. These facilities are home to TI’s most advanced process technologies and use American-made chip manufacturing equipment from Applied Materials’ factory in Austin, as well as advanced silicon wafers from GlobalWafers America. Apple is also working with Samsung at its fab in Austin, Texas, to launch an innovative new technology for making chips.
GlobalFoundries and Apple have also entered an agreement to bring more semiconductor manufacturing to the United States, focused on manufacturing cutting-edge wireless technologies and advanced power management, critical technologies that enable longer battery life and enhanced connectivity in Apple devices. The partnership will bring new capabilities, jobs, and technology to the GlobalFoundries semiconductor facility in Malta, New York.
Packaging is the final critical step in manufacturing silicon chips. Apple is investing in Amkor’s new advanced chip packaging and test facility in Arizona and will be its first customer. This facility will package and test Apple silicon manufactured at the nearby TSMC fab, and create chips used in iPhone devices shipped around the world.
Apple is also working with Broadcom and GlobalFoundries to develop and manufacture additional cellular semiconductor components in the U.S.
New and expanded facilities
Earlier this year, construction began in Houston on the new factory supporting production of advanced Apple servers, and in July, the facility produced its first test unit. The 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility is slated to begin mass production in 2026. Previously manufactured outside the U.S., the servers from Houston will play a key role in powering Apple Intelligence and are the foundation of Private Cloud Compute, which combines powerful AI processing with advanced security architecture for AI cloud computing.
In Detroit, registration is now open for the new Apple Manufacturing Academy, which was announced in February and is set to open on August 19. The academy will offer consultations and courses to small and medium-sized business on how they can implement advanced manufacturing and AI into their manufacturing programs.
Editor’s Note: This article was syndicated from The Robot Report’s sibling site Engineering.com.
