The Chief Executive of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer has admitted that TSMC’s current production capacity is insufficient to meet global demand. To counter this significant disparity, a new report states that the manufacturer is building three additional plants focused on 2nm wafer production, with the initial investment said to be a whopping $28.6 billion. Earlier, two of TSMC’s 2nm local plants were said to have reached their maximum production threshold, without monthly wafer output estimated to target 100,000 units by the end of next year.
Alongside expanding 2nm production, TSMC is also building its A14 facility in Taiwan, as it will eventually gravitate to the newer 1.4nm lithography
So far, TSMC has seven 2nm plants located in Hsinchu Science Park and Kaohsiung. Unfortunately, all of them cannot meet the burdening demand, which is why Liberty Times Net reports that the company is in the midst of jumpstarting the construction of three additional plants, which are said to be located in the Southern Taiwan Science Park Special Zone near the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The estimated initial investment required for each facility will be NT$300 billion (approximately $9.54 billion).
With three of them planned, TSMC’s pocket is expected to be $28.6 billion lighter, but that is the price to pay when you’re the only entity on the planet that can produce wafers on advanced lithography. The Taiwanese behemoth has also begun the construction of its A14 plant in Taichung, where it will commence the production of 1.4nm wafers. The firm has already taken the first steps towards building these sites, with an initial investment of a jaw-dropping $49 billion.
It is possible that TSMC has pushed forward with setting up three additional 2nm plants because Apple has already secured more than half of the initial supply for its upcoming A20 and A20 Pro chipsets that will be utilized in the iPhone 18 series. This means that Qualcomm and MediaTek will be competing for scraps for their Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600 orders, forcing TSMC to take measures into its own hands.
The report doesn’t specify the number of monthly wafers that will be increased when all 2nm manufacturing plants become fully operational, so that is a figure we will have to wait for until next year, so let us keep our fingers crossed for future updates.
News Source: Liberty Times Net
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