Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, November 5, Apple's M3 series chips are the first PC processors to be mass-produced using TSMC's latest 3nm technology. One analyst estimates that the Tape-Out cost of Apple's M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max processors alone amounts to $1 billion.

Analyst Jay Goldberg said on Digits to Dollars that Apple spent $1 billion on streaming the M3 series of chips. This high cost proves that only a few companies with deep capital, such as Apple, are willing to bear such costs in order to get a head start in the competition and provide customers with the best chips in the industry.

This may also explain why Qualcomm and MediaTek have not yet switched to the 3nm N3B process, but may choose the N3E process, which is said to have better yields and better prices. In an earlier report, Apple reportedly contributed about $3.1 billion to TSMC's 3nm revenue category.

In addition, just because Apple is the only customer seeking an order for 3nm chips, it does not mean that the company will receive preferential treatment from TSMC. Apple has to pay for "substandard" wafers and there is no special agreement between the two companies, according to a report. Since TSMC's 3nm yield is said to be only 55%, only a rich company like apple would risk investing 1 billion dollars to acquire cutting-edge technology.

However, that doesn't mean Apple will bear these costs for customers, as the basic 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro with only 8GB unified memory starts at 12999 yuan. As a result, the $1 billion in expenditure can always be recovered in some way.

CTOnews.com Note:

Tape-out refers to the manufacture of chips on the assembly line through a series of process steps, which is the last step of integrated circuit design, that is, delivery and manufacturing. Taping is "trial production", which is the process of turning circuit design into ASIC chips. That is, after the Fabless manufacturer has finished designing the circuit, under the condition that all inspection and verification are correct, the final GDSII file will be handed over to the Foundry factory to produce a part of the sample chip (usually tens or hundreds of chips) to test whether each process step is feasible and whether the circuit has the required performance and function.

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