This company makes tiny computer parts.
These parts go in phones. They also go in big computers. Many people use them every day. They help our tools work well. Can you name a gadget that uses a chip?
TSMC is a large company in Taiwan.
It makes tiny parts for computers. These parts are called chips.
Many big companies buy these chips. They use them for phones and smart tools. This helps them work fast. The company makes very small chips. They make even smaller ones soon. TSMC helps the whole world stay connected. It is a very important company.
TSMC is a huge company in Taiwan.
It is the world's largest company that makes chips for others. These chips are called semiconductors. They are tiny parts that make computers and phones work.
TSMC is a foundry. This means it is a factory that makes chips for other brands. Big names like Apple and Nvidia buy their chips. TSMC started in 1987. Morris Chang founded the company. He wanted to make chip research into real products.
TSMC makes very small parts. They make 3-nanometer chips now. A nanometer is a tiny unit of size. They plan to make 2-nanometer chips in 2025. Because they are so important, they are building new factories in other places. They are building in the United States and Japan.
One new factory is in Kumamoto, Japan. It is called JASM. This helps make sure the world does not run out of chips. TSMC also wants to use green power. They plan to use only renewable energy by 2050.
TSMC is a giant company based in Taiwan. It is the world's largest company that does not come from the United States. This company is a semiconductor foundry. A foundry is a factory that makes chips for other businesses. TSMC holds about 70% of the global market share for this work. Many famous brands like Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm rely on them. They make the tiny parts that power our modern world.
Making these chips is a very precise way it works. The company uses advanced tools to build tiny circuits. They use a method called extreme ultraviolet lithography. This helps them make parts that are incredibly small. They can make chips that are only 3 nanometres wide. A nanometer is a tiny unit of measurement. They even plan to start making 2-nanometre chips in 2025.
The story of TSMC began in 1987. Morris Chang founded the company to turn research into real products. It started as a joint venture between the government and private investors. At first, the government wanted to build a chip industry in Taiwan. Big companies like Intel said no to the plan at first. However, a company called Philips joined the project with $58 million. This helped TSMC grow much faster than it could have alone.
TSMC has seen huge growth over many years. In 2020, the company made $45.51 billion in revenue. Their net income for that year was $17.60 billion. By 2021, the company was worth over $550 billion. They are very important to Taiwan's economy. In 2022, Taiwan's chip exports were worth $184 billion. This was nearly 25 percent of the country's entire GDP.
You can see TSMC's impact in the gadgets you use every day. The chips in an iPhone or an iPad often come from them. They also make parts for cars and big data centers. Because they are so important, they are building new factories globally. They are building a $12 billion plant in Arizona, USA. They are also building a large factory in Kumamoto, Japan. This new Japanese site is called JASM.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, commonly known as TSMC, is a global leader in the semiconductor industry. Headquartered in the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, it is the largest non-U.S. company by market capitalization. TSMC operates as a semiconductor foundry, which means it is a dedicated contract manufacturer. Instead of designing its own chips, it manufactures them for other companies. This specialized role allows TSMC to hold a commanding majority of the global foundry market. Currently, the company accounts for approximately 70% of the global market share.
The manufacturing process at TSMC involves extreme precision and advanced technology. The company utilizes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography to create incredibly small circuits. This technology allows TSMC to produce chips at very small process nodes. They have successfully brought 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer production to the market. These specific nodes were used to create the Apple A14 and M1 System on a Chip (SoC). They also power the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 and the AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors. As of 2024, TSMC manufactures 3-nanometer chips and plans to begin 2-nanometer mass production in 2025.
TSMC serves a diverse range of customers across the technology sector. Many "fabless" companies, which design chips but do not own factories, rely on TSMC. These customers include Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom, Qualcomm, AMD, and ARM. They also serve emerging firms like Allwinner Technology, HiSilicon, Spectra7, and UNISOC. Even some integrated device manufacturers, such as Intel, NXP, and Texas Instruments, outsource some production to TSMC. This makes TSMC a central pillar of the global electronics supply chain. Because so many industries rely on them, TSMC is sometimes viewed as a potential supply chain bottleneck.
The history of TSMC began in 1987 through a unique partnership. Morris Chang founded the company to commercialize research from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). In 1986, Li Kwoh-ting invited Chang to build Taiwan's semiconductor industry. While companies like Intel and Texas Instruments declined to invest, Philips joined as a partner. Philips provided $58 million and transferred vital manufacturing technology and intellectual property. The Taiwanese government also provided 48.3% of the startup capital through the National Development Fund. Other capital came from private companies and the Kuomintang Central Investment Co.
Economically, TSMC is a massive force within Taiwan and the global market. In 2022, Taiwan's exports of integrated circuits reached $184 billion. This amount represented nearly 25% of Taiwan's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). TSMC itself makes up about 30% of the Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index. The company has seen incredible financial growth since its inception. Since 1994, it has maintained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.4% in revenue. In 2020, the company reported a net income of $17.60 billion on revenue of $45.51 billion. By April 2021, its market capitalization had exceeded $550 billion.
To manage global risks and geopolitical tensions, TSMC is expanding its physical footprint. While most of its work is in Taiwan, it is building new facilities abroad. In the United States, the company approved a $12 billion chip plant in Phoenix, Arizona. There are also plans for expansion into Germany. In Japan, TSMC established a subsidiary called Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, or JASM. Located in Kumamoto, this facility is a joint venture involving Sony. The total capital expenditure for the Kumamoto fab is estimated at approximately $8.6 billion. This expansion helps secure supply chains for essential electronics and automobiles.
TSMC's operations also intersect with environmental and social responsibilities. In 2020, the company joined the RE100 initiative. This is a pledge to use 100% renewable energy by the year 2050. This is a significant goal because TSMC consumes about 5% of all energy in Taiwan. The company also participated in public health efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, TSMC and Foxconn pledged $175 million to purchase 10 million BioNTech vaccines. These doses were donated to Taiwan's national vaccination program. Through these actions, TSMC remains connected to the broader needs of the global community.
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