Apple Says It Will Spend $30 Billion To Design US-Made Broadcom Chips

Apple says it will spend $30 billion to design US-made Broadcom wireless connectivity chips, part of its broader push to diversify its supply chain and support domestic chip production. CNN reports: The agreement with Broadcom will lead to the production of 15 million chips in United States and allow Broadcom to invest $1.5 billion to expand and modernize its manufacturing facilities in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is part of Apple's commitment in August to invest $600 billion as part of its "American Manufacturing Program" which it said is dedicated to bringing even more of the company's supply chain and advanced manufacturing back to the US.

This is nonsensical

[dgatwood]

This article seems nonsensical to me. If Apple is designing the chips, how are they Broadcom chips? Either Apple is designing them (or has designed them), in which case they're Apple chips, and Apple is paying Broadcom to build and maintain fabs for them, or Broadcom is designing them, and Apple is paying them to make them in the U.S.

Re:

[rsilvergun]

Apparently broadcom does have fabs and they make chips and apple uses them for that. I don't really think of broadcom like that but yeah I guess they do. So it's Apple designed chips being manufactured by broadcom.

As a matter of national security yeah it's good to have chip production here but it's kind of a yawn from a jobs perspective. None of these chip foundries produce very many jobs. It beats the hell out of an AI data center I guess.

Re:

[LostMyBeaver]

Broadcom is actually fabless, except for some mostly irrelevant research facilities.

Re:

[Valgrus Thunderaxe]

Apparently Intel is a chip maker. Apparently. I need further confirmation to be sure.

Re:

[dgatwood]

Apparently broadcom does have fabs and they make chips and apple uses them for that. I don't really think of broadcom like that but yeah I guess they do. So it's Apple designed chips being manufactured by broadcom.

You missed my point, which is that if Apple is designing them, they're Apple chips, not Broadcom chips. That's the part that didn't make sense.

Re:

[Narcocide]

It may be that Broadcom supplies core design components and licenses them to Apple, who then customizes those by integrating them into a larger design of their own. Lots of ARM hardware works this way.

Re:

[dgatwood]

Apple wouldn't license Broadcom ARM cores. They have their own. I could see Apple using Broadcom ASIC cells for Wi-Fi, but that wouldn't be a Broadcom part at that point; it would be an Apple part, because it being a Broadcom part would imply that Broadcom can make the part available to other companies.

Re:

[stabiesoft]

These are not ARM parts. They are the equivalent of an LC network with very hi-Q for RF. HP, now broadcom, made RF ceramic filters in Fort Collins. These parts kind of resemble IC processing, except on ceramic and just a metal pattern. Now maybe the 1.5B investment is to turn it into a semi fab, but I doubt it. Google FBAR filter.

Re:

[MachineShedFred]

There are a lot of other chips that go into phones. Modems, etc. Broadcom makes shitloads of these things.

Re:

[ambrandt12]

Very right. It's the same as happens with Data Centers... lots of jobs to build the place, but in the end, it's a dozen people to maintain the place.

Re: This is nonsensical

[Charlotte]

They own all the patents.

those are some expensive chips

[awwshit]

> Apple says it will spend $30 billion to ... lead to the production of 15 million chips in United States.

With a $2000 chip, how expensive will that phone be? Ready to finance your Apple phone?

Re:

[Grimolfr]

> Apple says it will spend $30 billion to ... lead to the production of 15 million chips in United States.

With a $2000 chip, how expensive will that phone be? Ready to finance your Apple phone?

Likely just bad writting by CNN. Checked multiple other sources and they state "result in the production of at least 15 billion chips".

Re:

[awwshit]

Ok, even if it is 30 million chips, you are still looking at a very expensive device.

Re:

[cmseagle]

I'm going to assume the adage about medication manufacturing applies here:

The first chip costs $29,500,000,000 in R&D and capital investment. The remaining 14,999,999 cost $30 each. And then you keep making them at that rate at the lower price.

Re:

[awwshit]

But you need to recoup that investment or you are going out of business. I guess they make up for it charging a fee on app sales? Customers will pay those costs one way or another.

PR for the Orange Idiot

[locater16]

This is just PR to appeal directly to the orange moron slowly wasting away in the Oval Office. Designing wireless chips is a notoriously difficult and time consuming process, and Broadcom is one of the only chip design partners in the entire world even qualified to do so. Apple was always going to go to them for their, wi-fi, bluetooth, whatever it is they're replacing that's currently made by Qualcomm. "Made in America" just sounds good to the person they might want a personal favor from soon.

Re:

[Gavino]

Do you have an actual argument for why making chips in the USA is such a bad thing? Or do you just like complaining?

Re: PR for the Orange Idiot

[fluffernutter]

If it is done only to incur favour and will not actually happen then it is a bad thing. Also the fact that it doesn't work out in the math is a bad thing. If many Americans are hired the chips and devices will be expensive. If no Americans are hired then it doesn't help anyone. People are dubious of no win situations.

Broadcom does make chips

[stabiesoft]

They acquired an old HP fab that did FBAR chips (ceramic resonators) If I remember right from school, these are for RF filtering. No semi's, so while technically they are making some small chips in the US, they are not the ones the general public would be thinking of.

I had a prof(RL Gunshor) in college in the 70's who did something similar with SAW(Surface Acoustic Wave) devices and I think these are an offshoot of the technology.

Apple goes into hock

[dsgrntlxmply]

The technical side of Broadcom have some excellent people and technology. The business side, however, after Hock Tan, are grotesque lamprey/scorpion hybrids. Direct experience.