TSMC has more than doubled its Arizona internship program, pulling in over 200 students from around 60 colleges this summer as it races to staff its advanced-node fabs just outside Phoenix. Just a year ago, that figure stood at 130. In 2023, it was only 16. Speaking to Phoenix Business Journal, TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares said “we’re really scaling up,” noting that about 30 of this year’s interns came from Arizona State University alone.
TSMC began producing 4nm chips at its first Phoenix fab in early 2025, a milestone confirmed by both the company and the U.S. Commerce Department in April. That same announcement outlined $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act subsidies and the plan for a third Arizona fab — one that will eventually support TSMC’s upcoming 2nm process. Combined, the three fabs are expected to support over 6,000 direct jobs and produce some of the world’s most advanced silicon on U.S. soil.
More than just a summer job, these internships sat alongside technical apprenticeships, accelerated certificate tracks, and a growing slate of university partnerships, all of which are part of a wider talent pipeline that’s being pushed hard by state and federal officials. In April, the Arizona Commerce Authority trumpeted the expansion alongside Governor Katie Hobbs, and ASU has since launched new undergrad research and workforce development programs focused entirely on semiconductors.
TSMC is also using Amkor’s new $2 billion advanced packaging facility in nearby Peoria, which will handle CoWoS and InFO: Two essential technologies for stacking high-performance chips like GPUs, AI accelerators, and Apple’s multi-die SoCs. That move keeps a larger share of the chip supply chain in the U.S., especially for components built for the likes of Nvidia and AMD.
To keep these fabs and packaging lines running, TSMC is leaning heavily on local partnerships. Not only has ASU created new undergraduate and workforce training programs, but it’s also offering graduate funding, while the state of Arizona itself launched a registered apprenticeship program with TSMC in January. This aims to certify fab technicians through a 15-week intensive course.
All this begs the question of whether Arizona can deliver the talent needed to support a long-term domestic supply chain? The 200 interns from this summer are just one part of the answer. The bigger test will be how many of them return, and how quickly they can step into roles at the leading edge of silicon production.
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