NVIDIA unveils first Blackwell wafer made in the U.S. at TSMC Phoenix

NVIDIA has announced the first Blackwell wafer assembled in the United States at TSMC’s Phoenix semiconductor facility. The wafer is the base material for NVIDIA’s next-generation Blackwell AI chips — a platform the company says will deliver significantly improved performance and efficiency over its predecessor.

Blackwell was introduced last year with industry partners including Amazon, Google and OpenAI lining up to adopt the architecture. NVIDIA claims the platform translates to dramatically lower cost and energy use — the company has stated figures as large as ~25x improvements compared to the previous generation— and the move to U.S. wafer production is aimed at reducing exposure to tariffs and geopolitical supply risks.

At a celebration event, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the significance: “It’s the very first time in recent American history that the single most important chip is being manufactured here in the United States by the most advanced fab, by TSMC, here in the United States.” NVIDIA is pushing toward volume production and expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint while planning major investments—reportedly up to half a trillion dollars—across partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn and others to build AI infrastructure domestically.

• What happened: First Blackwell wafer assembled at TSMC’s Phoenix fab in the U.S.
• Why it matters: Strengthens domestic AI chip production and reduces geopolitical/tariff vulnerability.
• Technical claim: NVIDIA says Blackwell offers large cost and energy efficiency improvements vs prior generation.
• Next steps: NVIDIA moving toward volume production and expanding U.S. manufacturing partnerships.

For more details, see the original coverage on Engadget (opens in new tab).

This development could reshape supply-chain dynamics for AI hardware and accelerate onshore production — but questions remain about volume ramp timelines and how quickly U.S. fabs can meet global demand.

Discussion: How important is onshore chip production to your view of AI’s future — a necessary strategic move or just another manufacturing milestone?