TSMC Approves $6.7 Billion for Fab Expansion and R&D

TSMC this week announced that its board of directors approved a $6.7 billion budget for expanding its factories. 

The chip foundry said it plans on using the budget for the following: 

• Fab construction and installation of fab facility systems
• Installation and upgrade of advanced technology capacity
• Installation of specialty technology capacity
• Installation of advanced packaging capacity
• Q2 2020 research and development capital investments and capital expenditures sustainment

Last month, we learned that TSMC was investing heavily in expanding its 5nm and 7nm capacity, with the company increasing its spending budget by $4 billion over the previous year. That included $1.5 billion for 7nm capacity expansion and $2.5 billion for the development of a 5nm production line. 

Of course, this newly announced budget of almost $7 billion will be spread out beyond just 7nm and 5nm capacity. DigiTimes last week reported that TSMC is seeing "tight" supply chains amid the coronavirus outbreak. Despite global impacts, it looks like TSMC isn't witnessing a fallback in orders from its biggest clients.  

At the very least, we know TSMC is fighting to maintain positioning in the semiconductor manufacturer market, a battle that Samsung is also fighting, having recently succeeded in developing a 3nm GAAFET prototype.