Chips and thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) filters are on the menu.
Apple has agreed to buy up to $30 billion-worth of additional chips and other wireless components from Broadcom over the next few years.
The new agreement could lead to Broadcom making up to 15 billion more chips in the US, and enable it to modernize its manufacturing facilities in Fort Collins, Colorado, where it will produce radio frequency components including thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) filters and advanced wireless connectivity technologies, Apple said.
The deal is part of Apple’s effort to create an end-to-end supply chain in the US. It has already been exploring options that could wean it off Chinese-made chips. Last year it launched its American Manufacturing Program (AMP) to accelerate manufacturing in the US, committing to “invest $600 billion in the US economy over four years” in support of local manufacturing and jobs.
US companies have been keen to source chips manufactured in the US to eliminate supply-chain uncertainty in the face of President Trump’s ever-changing tariff policies.
“We’re grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this one,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a news release, without specifying the nature of the Trump administration’s support for such deals.
He said the components Broadcom makes in Fort Collins were essential to Apple’s products.
This article first appeared on Computerworld.
