[jacobsimon]

I’m hugely supportive of the new factories and investments, but I’m curious why they decided on Phoenix which seems to be affected dramatically by climate change and incidentally has a very different climate and culture from Taiwan.

[11thEarlOfMar]

There are already a number of fabs there. Intel has a big presence. Government support, infranstructure and an experienced (although insufficient at this point) workforce are already there.

The reason there is a chip fab activity in Phoenix goes back to 1949 [0] when Motorola built a lab there. In 1952, they started making semiconductors and eventually chips.

[0] https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA79561583&sid=googleSc...

[icey]

A few possible reasons: Cheap & reliable electricity (https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2024/04/26/arizona-power...), low seismic activity (https://www.spglobal.com/mobility/en/research-analysis/brief...), existing semiconductor supporting industries (as mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and a politically favorable business environment.