TSMC's new U.S. plant is unlikely to get the most advanced chip technology before factories in Taiwan due to complex compliance issues, local construction regulations and various permitting requirements,

TSMC on Thursday officially confirmed that its Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona, had begun high volume production of chips after months of rumors and a confirmation from the U.S. Commerce Secretary earlier in January.

Wei also addressed a question about ramping up bleeding-edge nodes at the Arizona fab, now that TSMC has the greenlight from Taiwan to take that tech abroad. Until recently, restrictions meant that the latest node had to be produced in Taiwan, but older-gen nodes could go abroad.