Apple and Broadcom reach multibillion-dollar agreement for US-made 5G technology

Apple has forged a multibillion-dollar deal with U.S. chipmaker Broadcom to develop 5G radio frequency components for the mobile and computing giant, according to a Tuesday announcement.

The deal includes manufacturing FBAR filters for Apple, which the company said in its release will be done at several U.S. manufacturing and technology hubs, including Fort Collins, Colorado, where Broadcom has a major facility. The announcement did not disclose the exact dollar amount of the arrangement.

Broadcom already supplies the company with FBAR filters, which are produced at its Fort Collins plant, supporting 1,100 jobs. Apple said its partnership with the manufacturer will “enable Broadcom to continue to invest in critical automation projects and upskilling with technicians and engineers.”

Apple framed the deal as part of its commitment, announced in 2021, to invest $430 billion in the U.S. economy over five years.

The company said it is on pace to meet those goals and currently supports 2.7 million domestic jobs through employment, spending with 9,000 U.S. suppliers in various sectors and indirectly through developer jobs related to its iOS app platform.

Apple also said it was spending “tens of billions of dollars” to help develop the field of 5G technology within the U.S.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the company will “continue to deepen our investments in the U.S. economy because we have an unshakable belief in America’s future.”

The Biden Administration has been pushing to develop more tech manufacturing in the U.S., including for semiconductors, which went through disruptive supply shortfalls with the pandemic.

The government created tens of billions of dollars in incentives for new U.S.-based semiconductor production sites through the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year.

Apple, meanwhile, has been tinkering with the geography of its supply chain, including a shift of some production away from China, where pandemic disruptions led to earlier supply shortfalls of the company’s latest iPhone.

Along with purchasing semiconductors manufactured domestically — with Cook making a public visit to a TSMC plant in Arizona — the company’s suppliers are also making investments in India and other countries.