Exclusive: Nvidia and TSMC unveil first Blackwell chip wafer made in U.S.

Driving the news: Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang visited TSMC's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix on Friday to announce the advance.

• "You built something incredible, but you will realize in time that you are part of something historic," Huang told several hundred TSMC employees who gathered to celebrate the announcement.
• "The single most important chip is now being produced in America," Huang said.

Between the lines: Huang gave President Trump high praise and repeatedly made clear this is "just the beginning" of AI-related manufacturing in US.

• Huang on multiple occasions lauded Trump's vision to re-shore manufacturing.

What they're saying: "Nvidia and TSMC are working together to build the infrastructure that powers the world's AI factories, right here in America," Nvidia said in a blog post.

• "TSMC Arizona is expected to create thousands of high-tech jobs and attract a broad ecosystem of suppliers," Nvidia and TSMC said in a joint statement.
• "Today we've laid the foundation [for the U.S.] to lead the AI race at the infrastructure level," Huang told the crowd, adding that Nvidia plans to spend a half trillion dollars on AI-related infrastructure in the coming years.

Yes, but: The wafer is a crucial first step in re-shoring critical chip production in the U.S., but there's still a long way to go before the country's chip demand could be free of dependency on companies and factories overseas.

The bottom line: Intense efforts to re-shore key parts of the AI economy are starting to pay off.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.