Nvidia’s downtown Santa Clara, California, US, headquarters (Image: Adobe Stock)

Recent moves by the likes of US-based tech giant Nvidia suggest that even as US import tariffs introduce short-term volatility (especially in the technology sector), they may also be prompting long-term domestic investment � and with it, a fresh wave of construction across the United States.

Nvidia commits to American-made supercomputers, AI infrastructure

The clearest signal came in April from Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker (US$3.6-trillion market cap), when it announced a major plan to manufacture “Made in America� AI supercomputers.

The initiative, unveiled in partnership with US-based server makers such as Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Supermicro (all US firms), aims to build AI factories capable of supporting the growing demand for generative AI workloads.

Chip manufacturer TSMC inks $100bn deal to build more US plants Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC has signed a deal to invest $100 billion in construction of new fabrication plants

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company would rely on a network of US partners to assemble the AI supercomputers, noting that, “AI is driving data centres to become AI factories� manufactured in America.� Once up-and-running, it’s believed to be a ‘first� for the US: building supercomputers within its own borders.

The new production model will require the construction of highly specialised computing infrastructure across the country.

One such project is already taking shape in Silicon Valley: Nvidia is reportedly planning a 750,000 sq ft data centre in Santa Clara, California, in collaboration with Vantage Data Centers. The facility, expected to begin operations in phases starting in late 2025, will support up to 100MW of power and feature high-density cooling to handle the demands of AI training and inference.

This Santa Clara site is only part of a much larger investment. Nvidia has unveiled plans to invest up to $500 billion over the next four years, including construction of more than 1 million sq ft of new manufacturing space across Texas and Arizona.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn is reportedly constructing a plant with Nvidia in Houston, while another Taiwan-based manufacturer, Wistron, is developing another in Dallas.

Apple to build new Texas factory and manufacturing academy as part of $500bn spend US technology company Apple is to spend more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years, including on a new factory in Texas and a manufacturing academy.

In Arizona, a third Taiwanese manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), will produce Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, with US-based Amkor and Taiwan-based Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) managing chip packaging and testing.

Facilities like these require advanced cooling systems, robust power infrastructure, and environmental precision—ranging from electromagnetic shielding to humidity and air quality controls. These construction features are critical to maintaining uptime and performance in AI operations.

While Nvidia itself is not acting as a general contractor, its initiative is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and new opportunities across the construction and manufacturing sectors.

From semiconductor fabs to AI-ready data hubs, the effort represents a massive pipeline of high-tech infrastructure development.

AMD follows suit with new US manufacturing

AMD headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US (Image: Adobe Stock)

Nvidia is not alone.

Another US-based chipmaker, AMD, recently confirmed that its EPYC server processors will soon be manufactured at TSMC’s new fab in Arizona. This marks the first time AMD’s data centre chips will be produced on US soil, part of a broader industry trend to shift high-tech manufacturing closer to home.

“Taiwan remains incredibly important to AMD,� CEO Lisa Su told news outlet Reuters, “but we are diversifying. The US will play a bigger role in our roadmap going forward.�

AMD has also acquired ZT Systems, a major AI server supplier based in the US, further strengthening its domestic footprint.

TSMC’s Arizona site � where AMD plans to manufacture � is itself a high-profile construction project, with over $40 billion committed and numerous contracts awarded for specialised cleanroom, utility, and logistics facilities.

JCB doubles down in Texas

Render of JCB’s future San Antonio, Texas, factory (Image: JCB)

In the construction equipment sector, British OEM JCB is taking a similar approach, albeit from a slightly different sector.

In response to new tariffs on UK imports, the company recently announced it would double the size of its under-construction factory in San Antonio, Texas. The expansion is aimed at mitigating tariff exposure by localising production.

The facility, which is expected to employ up to 1,500 workers, will manufacture machines for the North American market, allowing JCB to sidestep trade barriers while capturing local demand.

Though smaller in scale than Nvidia or AMD’s efforts, it exemplifies how even traditional equipment manufacturers are adapting their operations in response to global economic policy.

Sign of the times or a flash in the pan?

However, time will tell whether today’s announcements are part of a long-term repositioning of American manufacturing or just powerful outliers leveraging around short-term risks.

While tariffs and trade tensions are typically framed as business risks, the responses from Nvidia, AMD, and JCB suggest a different narrative is also unfolding.

Driven by policy uncertainty, companies are reassessing their global strategies � and at least in these cases, are choosing to build in the United States.

For the construction industry, this shift offers more than just symbolic value. Each new data centre, fabrication plant, or equipment factory represents not only a policy outcome but a pipeline of real-world projects, jobs, and long-term investment.

In 2025, projects like these could be a common denominator if America does make good on its high-tech industrial resurgence.

Tariffs haven’t kicked in yet but US construction materials prices already rising The prices of materials used in non-residential construction in the US rose for a third month in a row, before most tariffs have even kicked in