Amkor announces $2 billion facility in Peoria for packaging Apple chips

PHOENIX – Amkor Technology will spend $2 billion to build a new advanced semiconductor packaging and test facility in Peoria that will package and test chips for Apple.

The chips are produced at a nearby Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility near Dove Valley Road and 43rd Avenue.

The Tempe-based company, which is a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and testing services, announced its plans to build the largest outsourced advanced packaging facility in the United States on Thursday.

The facility will sit on 55 acres of land with more than 500,000 square feet of clean room space when fully built.

The final details of the development agreement between the city of Peoria and Amkor are still being worked out, but the facility will bring 2,000 jobs to Peoria.

“It is no secret that our nation is reshoring its advanced manufacturing industries,” Mayor Jason Beck said.

“We are proud of Peoria’s global leadership in this movement, and the significant capital investment and quality jobs that it brings to our community. This tremendous announcement is a credit to the City Council’s commitment to economic development, and staff’s hard work and dedication on this project.”

Amkor announced that it plans to begin production at the facility within the next two to three years. The company applied for CHIPS funding from the U.S. federal government to help fund the project. The CHIPS and Science Act is a U.S. federal statute that was passed last August that provides roughly $280 billion in new funding to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research and development.

“As one of the first advanced packaging facilities in the U.S., this is a huge step forward to reducing dependence on other countries in the microchip supply chain,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said.

“When negotiating the CHIPS and Science Act, one of my top priorities was making sure companies like Amkor had the support needed to develop a resilient supply chain in places like Arizona that are leading the way in bringing microchip manufacturing back to America.” 

Apple will be Amkor’s first and largest customer. Amkor has packaged chips used in all of Apple’s products for more than a decade.

“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’ll continue to expand our investment here in the United States,” Apple’s operating chief Jeff Williams said in a press release Thursday.

“Apple silicon has unlocked new levels of performance for our users, enabling them to do things they could never do before, and we are thrilled that Apple silicon will soon be produced and packaged in Arizona.”

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