TSMC's chief executive and chairman, C.C. Wei, said at a press conference in Taipei on Thursday that the company is expanding its production capacity in the U.S. due to customer demand and extraordinary booking through late 2027. According to Reuters, Wei stressed that the expansion in the U.S. would not affect the foundry's expansion plans in Taiwan. The press conference was held at Taiwan's presidential office.
TSMC's American customers — such as Apple, AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Qualcomm — asked TSMC to boost U.S.-based capacity despite 25% - 30% higher quotes on chips produced in America, according to C.C. Wei. He did not reveal whether demand for U.S. capacity from some of America's largest fabless semiconductor companies picked up before or after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% – 100% tariffs on chips made in Taiwan. While it is generally unlikely that a U.S. administration would make chips 2X more expensive for customers in America overnight, political uncertainty certainly affected TSMC's decision making.
The company announced this week that it intends to build five additional Fab 21 modules, two advanced packaging facilities, and an R&D center in the U.S. for around $165 billion over an unspecified period of time. In addition, the company will continue to build its second JASM fab module in Japan in partnership with Sony and Toyota and its first ESMC fab aimed at customers in the automotive industry near Dresden, Germany.
CEO C.C. Wei emphasized that TSMC's $165 billion U.S. investment plan will not reduce its focus on Taiwan's semiconductor sector. The company remains committed to increasing domestic production, acknowledging that current capacity is still insufficient.
Indeed, Taiwan will remain TSMC's home turf, though, as the company preps to launch 11 new production lines on the island this year alone. This probably includes the company's Fab 20 near Baoshan in Hsinchu County, which will be the company's primary fab for production chips on N2 and A16 fabrication processes (2nm-class, 1.6nm-class) before its second N2-capable fab near Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan Science Park kicks off in 2026. In addition, the company is expanding production on its advanced (7nm and below), mature, and specialty nodes in Taiwan as demand for all of its process technologies remains at record levels.
