Driven by a surge in demand for chips to power artificial intelligence, Taiwanese chip maker and major Apple supplier TSMC plans to invest nearly T$90 billion ($2.87 billion) in an advanced packaging facility in northern Taiwan, the company said on Tuesday. “To meet market needs, TSMC is planning to establish an advanced packaging fab in the Tongluo Science Park,” the company said in a statement.
Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee for Reuters:
CEO C.C. Wei said last week that TSMC is unable to fulfill customer demand driven by the AI boom and plans to roughly double its capacity for advanced packaging – which involves placing multiple chips into a single device, lowering the added cost of more powerful computing.
For advanced packaging, especially TSMC’s chip on wafer on substrate (CoWoS), capacity is “very tight,” Wei said after the company reported a 23% fall in second-quarter profit. “We are increasing our capacity as quickly as possible. We expect this tightening will be released next year, probably towards the end of next year.”
Even as the leading Apple supplier ramps up its expansion abroad, it plans to keep its most advanced chip technology in Taiwan, a global powerhouse in manufacturing semiconductors that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.
MacDailyNews Take: We can easily imagine far less risky places for TSMC to invest.
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The Chinese Invasion of Taiwan begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The Chinese know the USA is weak with this current administration.
Can’t understand why TSMC can’t see this.
This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the current U.S. administration or the prior U.S. administration and likely even the next U.S. administration.
Xi has publicly stated his goal is to have the PLA upgraded by the end of 2027 to the point where the PLA can take Taiwan by force (even invasion) even if the U.S. gets directly and militarily involved. Other high ranking members of the CCP have made similar statements. That does not mean by 1 January 2028 the PRC will invade Taiwan, but it does escalate the possibility.
With the huge increases over recent years and current plans over the next few years of the PLA Navy the more likely scenario is not an outright invasion but rather an attempt at a total blockade of Taiwan ocean surface traffic. Taiwan could not survive on air transport alone. Further, a blockade would be much more difficult to justify direct military action by the U.S. or any other country in support of Taiwan. Finally, several weeks or a couple months of a 100% ocean surface blockade could get Taiwan’s government to cave in to the PRC and allow itself to be annexed.
maybe TSMC does see the threat the CCP is to Taiwan. Maybe they woke up and realized they only way the usa will defend Taiwan is if they have sufficient value to the “west” and if TSMC builds enough out of country fabs then there will be no reason for the “free” to help defend them
Whatever happens, let’s hope the fans aren’t destroyed or our modern tech is ucked, entirely