Not Just Numbers: How TSMC’s “Small-Step, Fast-Run” Strategy Became Its Secret Weapon Against Samsung and Intel

[karin623]

Everyone knows TSMC as the world’s most advanced chipmaker. But few realize that one of its biggest advantages isn’t measured in nanometers — it’s in how those nanometers evolve.

In a rare semi-official interview with Y.J. Mii, TSMC’s newly appointed Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, we finally get a glimpse into the company’s long-kept secret: the half-node.

Born in the 1990s, this deceptively simple idea — making small, incremental shrinks instead of big leaps — became the cornerstone of TSMC’s “small-step, fast-run” strategy. It’s how the company turned caution into precision, iteration into dominance, and consistency into innovation.

From the legendary 28 nm era that Morris Chang called his proudest victory, to the current 4 nm and 5 nm processes powering AI data centers, the same philosophy endures. The half-node isn’t just a tweak in chip design — it’s the rhythm that keeps TSMC perpetually ahead of Samsung and Intel.

Read the full story: Inside TSMC’s Secret Weapon: The Power of the Half-Node.

Not Just Numbers: How TSMC’s “Small-Step, Fast-Run” Strategy Became Its Secret Weapon Against Samsung and Intel

Liang-rong Chen

cwnewsroom.substack.com

 

[hist78]

Everyone knows TSMC as the world’s most advanced chipmaker. But few realize that one of its biggest advantages isn’t measured in nanometers — it’s in how those nanometers evolve.

In a rare semi-official interview with Y.J. Mii, TSMC’s newly appointed Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, we finally get a glimpse into the company’s long-kept secret: the half-node.

Born in the 1990s, this deceptively simple idea — making small, incremental shrinks instead of big leaps — became the cornerstone of TSMC’s “small-step, fast-run” strategy. It’s how the company turned caution into precision, iteration into dominance, and consistency into innovation.

From the legendary 28 nm era that Morris Chang called his proudest victory, to the current 4 nm and 5 nm processes powering AI data centers, the same philosophy endures. The half-node isn’t just a tweak in chip design — it’s the rhythm that keeps TSMC perpetually ahead of Samsung and Intel.

Read the full story: Inside TSMC’s Secret Weapon: The Power of the Half-Node.

Not Just Numbers: How TSMC’s “Small-Step, Fast-Run” Strategy Became Its Secret Weapon Against Samsung and Intel

Liang-rong Chen

cwnewsroom.substack.com

The half-node and small-step approach improves on time product delivery. Predictability in product delivery is extremely important to TSMC and its customers, such as Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nvidia, AMD, and the broader supply chain and ecosystem.

Apple relies on predictability to plan its finances for manufacturing, marketing, and business expansion. Foxconn needs it to hire and train employees and to prepare the necessary, often expensive, production tools. AMD depends on it to inform its customers when they can roll out new data center servers to replace Intel based systems.

 

[benb]

TSMC guessed right on 28nm (gate last, HKMG) and iterated steadily from there. They also got Apple from 20nm onward. Pulling Apple away from Samsung destroyed Samsung (in hindsight).

Apple puts the wind in TSMC sails.