The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has started preparing for early-stage production of its two-nanometer semiconductors, according to industry rumors. TSMC kicked off production of the 3nm chips last year, and the firm's previous estimates have pegged 2-nanometer production for 2025, a year after it acquires newer chip manufacturing machines. At the same time, more rumors suggest that the firm is also looking to increase the prices of its existing products by as much as six percent from next year - with the increases slated to affect some of TSMC's largest customers, such as the Cupertino, California consumer technology giant Apple, Inc and the darling of the semiconductor industry, NVIDIA Corporation.
TSMC's Rumored Price Hike Expected To Help Firm Adjust To High Power & Capital Expenditure Costs
According to the details sourced by the United Daily News (UDN), TSMC has increased manpower at a research facility in Taiwan's Hsinchu City. TSMC is also headquartered in Hsinchu, and the firm has an R&D facility in the city. The increased manpower for the 2-nanometer is intended to prepare the facility for trial production of chips made through the technology. Sources also believe that TSMC will use artificial intelligence to conserve energy and reduce emissions.
It also appears that TSMC is moving quite fast towards actually making the advanced chips. UDN's sources believe the firm aims to produce 1,000 units this year at the Zhuke facility as part of a pre-trial production run. The goal is to iron out the processes as soon as possible and then start full-scale trial production next year.
In its statements regarding the rumors, TSMC asserted that it still aims to mass-produce 2-nanometer chips in 2025. These align with earlier estimates the firm's management provided, first in 2022 and then earlier this year.
Delving deeper into this, TSMC's customers are allegedly behind this aggressive approach to R&D. The goal is to narrow out any kinks related to 2-nanometer production as soon as possible, and the sources claim that TSMC's customers are pushing it to start pre-production operations. 2-nanometer will use an upgraded transistor design called GAAFET, while the current 3-nanometer node currently in production uses the mature FinFET designs.
Additionally, the artificial intelligence system that TSMC is deploying for production is based on NVIDIA's products. Through this, the fab has the potential to reduce cycle times, streamline calculation and even bring forward the mass production schedule.
Even as it gears up to make newer chips, TSMC plans to increase its prices for the current products from next year, according to a DigiTimes report. These will range between 3% and 6%, and will vary based on the factories producing the products, the manufacturing process used, the size of the order and the customer. Rumors claim that TSMC has communicated the changes to nearly all of its customers, including names such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm and Broadcom. Through these, the firm is expected to manage the high costs of electricity and its capital expenditure, particularly surrounding the overlay to build overseas facilities.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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