Apple is spending big to make chips at home. It has committed to a multi-year Broadcom deal worth more than $30 billion, Apple announced on Wednesday. That makes it Apple’s largest US manufacturing pledge to date.
The scale is the story. The deal should yield more than 15 billion US-made chips and support hundreds of American jobs. It also funds a $1.5 billion expansion of Broadcom’s plant in Fort Collins, Colorado. Apple gave no timeline for the new capacity.
The parts themselves are familiar. Fort Collins will turn out advanced radio-frequency components, including FBAR filters, plus wireless tech for cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The pledge builds on the through-2031 custom-silicon agreement Broadcom disclosed on Monday. That deal covers bespoke ASIC chips across several Apple generations.
Cook’s reshoring flag
For Tim Cook, Apple’s outgoing chief, it is another loud bet on American manufacturing. The deal is the biggest piece of Apple’s $600 billion US investment plan. It is also the largest under its American Manufacturing Program. Cook said it “further accelerates our commitment to American manufacturing,” and thanked President Trump.
