TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is a semiconductor group founded on February 21, 1987, by Morris Chang and headquartered in the Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. According to Wikipedia, TSMC is the world's first dedicated semiconductor foundry, the leading dedicated contract chipmaker, and the first company to commercialize extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography at scale. C. C. Wei has served as Chairman and CEO since June 2024.
Importance for AI
TSMC manufactures the most advanced logic chips on behalf of other companies — including the AI accelerators and processors of customers such as Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom and Qualcomm. By the company's own account, High Performance Computing (HPC) generated about 58% of 2025 revenue and smartphones about 29%, while North America alone accounted for 75% of net revenue. Because virtually all leading AI chip designers rely on TSMC's most advanced processes, the company is a central bottleneck and enabler of AI hardware.
Technology and capacity
In 2025 the 3-nanometer process was in volume production while the 2-nanometer technology (N2) entered volume production the same year. TSMC states it manufactured around 12,682 different products across 305 distinct technologies for 534 customers, with total capacity exceeding roughly 17 million 12-inch equivalent wafers annually. Capital expenditure came to about NT$1,272.4 billion in 2025; for 2026 TSMC plans capex of $52-56 billion, including 2- and 3-nanometer capacity and advanced packaging at Fab 20, 21, 22 and 24.
Business model
As a foundry, TSMC does not design its own end products but provides manufacturing capacity and process technology. According to Wikipedia, TSMC holds roughly 70 percent market share in the foundry business. Its ten largest customers account for 78% of revenue, with the single largest customer alone representing 19%. Per Wikipedia, the largest individual shareholder is the Taiwanese government at 6.38%, followed by institutional holders such as BlackRock (5.09%) and Capital Research (3.61%).
Key figures
For fiscal year 2025 TSMC reported consolidated revenue of NT$3,809.05 billion (about $122.42 billion) and net income of NT$1,717.88 billion (about $55.21 billion), with a gross margin of 59.9%. Wikipedia cites about 83,825 employees (2024). Market capitalization stood at roughly $2.25 trillion in July 2026; TSMC ranked 38th on the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list. The shares are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (code 2330) and as an ADR on the NYSE (TSM, ISIN US8740391003).
The heart of the chip supply chain
TSMC decisively shaped the foundry model: the company manufactures chips to its customers' designs without acting as a competitor in the end-product market. This neutrality has made many of the world's leading chip designers TSMC customers. The most advanced manufacturing processes are extremely capital-intensive, which creates high barriers to entry.
Strategic importance and location questions
Beyond six 12-inch GIGAFABs, four 8-inch fabs and one 6-inch fab in Taiwan, TSMC now operates plants in Arizona (TSMC Arizona Corporation), Nanjing in China, Kumamoto in Japan (JASM, in commercial operation since December 2024), and a facility under construction in Dresden (ESMC, focused on 28/22nm and 16/12nm processes). Because modern AI accelerators depend on TSMC's most advanced processes, the company has strategic importance for the entire technology industry; the bulk of manufacturing remains in Taiwan, which is why geopolitical questions play an important role.
This profile is a neutral description and is not investment advice.