Anduril, Qualcomm team up on US-made laptop

TSMC Arizona to produce Snapdragon chips

Orders to open in 2027, targeting government and defense markets

Partnership aims to rebuild domestic supply chain

The TSMC logo is displayed on the outer wall of the company's factory at Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan. [Getty Images]
The TSMC logo is displayed on the outer wall of the company's factory at Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan. [Getty Images]

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, will manufacture a laptop chip jointly developed by US defense company Anduril and chipmaker Qualcomm at its factory in Arizona — a move aimed at rebuilding the US computer manufacturing supply chain and reducing dependence on overseas production.

According to Taiwanese media including Liberty Times, Anduril and Qualcomm announced Tuesday in a press release that they plan to produce a "Blue Chip" laptop in the United States based on an architecture from British chip designer Arm, with orders set to open in 2027.

Anduril said it aims to supply rugged laptops for use in government, defense, emergency response and public safety sectors, with the goal of rebuilding the computer manufacturing supply chain within the United States.

The company said the US still leads in advanced technology design, but decades of manufacturing moving offshore have made computers and key components heavily dependent on foreign production — a structural vulnerability that, from personal devices to computers used in critical national infrastructure, has become a national security risk.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the Blue Chip laptop will be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips, which are set to be produced at TSMC's factory in Arizona.

Anduril said its long-term goal is to source all components and manufacturing processes needed for laptop production from within the United States.

Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey said the company is in talks with suppliers to build a 100 percent domestic supply chain and hopes to share progress before CES, the consumer electronics and IT trade show held each January.

However, the cost of domestic US production is seen as an early challenge.

Luckey said initial products may be priced higher than laptops made in China, but expressed confidence that the venture could achieve comparable price competitiveness over the long term.

Anduril's move into laptop manufacturing beyond its traditional defense business stems from the structural similarities between products. Luckey noted that autonomous drones also require processors, memory chips, motherboards, batteries and wireless communication modules — with the main differences from a laptop being the casing, display and keyboard.

The circuit boards for the Blue Chip laptop are set to be assembled at Arsenal-1, Anduril's weapons factory in Ohio.

According to sources, Anduril has completed a prototype in which more than 90 percent of component costs, by procurement value, are sourced from US and allied-nation suppliers.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. — the world's fourth-largest foundry — also announced a major investment plan in advanced semiconductor technology.

UMC said at its third-quarter earnings call Wednesday that its board had approved an additional investment of around 100 billion Taiwan dollars across three areas: silicon photonics, three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D-IC) and thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN).

UMC plans to expand its silicon photonics production facility at its Singapore factory, while 3D-IC and silicon capacitor (Si-CAP) facilities will be scaled up at its factory in Tainan, southern Taiwan.


sjy@heraldcorp.com