Apple is exploring semiconductor suppliers beyond its primary partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), due to global chip shortages. The company has held discussions with Samsung and Intel, including visits to a Samsung plant in Texas. No major orders have been placed yet.
Apple designs its system-on-a-chip processors, which TSMC typically manufactures for devices like iPhones and Macs. However, surging demand for chips from AI and data centers has strained supplies, prompting Apple to consider alternatives, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Executives have visited a Samsung facility under construction in Texas as part of these talks, though technical challenges could derail any shift from TSMC's silicon processes. Representatives for Apple, Samsung, Intel, and TSMC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Samsung recently announced a nearly 50-fold increase in semiconductor revenue, fueled by tight global supplies. Beyond shortages, Apple faces incentives to source more chips from US-based production amid pressures from the Trump administration to onshore manufacturing. The company has previously shifted some Mac assembly to the US and diversified component sourcing to India and Vietnam during last year's trade war with China.
