Is Apple bringing chip manufacturing home?

opinion

Jul 16, 20264 mins

Apple’s recently announced $30 billion multi-year agreement with Broadcom is significant because it means billions of chips for Apple devices will be made in the US, supporting hundreds of jobs.

This is Apple’s biggest US procurement deal so far, but it won’t be the last; when it announced the arrangement, Apple confirmed it is, “working with the administration and businesses across the US to help create an end-to-end silicon supply chain in America.”

That statement implies that the 15 billion chips Broadcom will produce won’t be the only processors in Apple devices to carry tiny little “Made in the USA” slogans. Broadcom is making custom silicon components and wireless connectivity technologies such as RF/wireless chips (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, FBAR filters) and ASIC work, rather than application processors. But they are still chips for Apple devices.