World's top chipmaker plans to secure land in Arizona beyond $165bn investment
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. building in Phoenix, Arizona, is seen on Oct. 3. (Photo by Rebecca Noble)
TAIPEI -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday said it plans to speed up its time frame for producing advanced 2-nanometer chips in the U.S., while also signaling further expansion beyond the $165 billion it has already committed to investing in America, according to company Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei.
"We are preparing to upgrade our technologies faster to N2 [2-nm] and more advanced processes in Arizona, given the strong AI-related demand from our customers," Wei told investors and reporters in an earnings conference. Previously, TSMC had said its third plant in the U.S. state will produce 2-nm chips before the end of the decade.
Wei also said TSMC is close to securing a second large plot of land close to its Arizona site to provide more flexibility in response to the strong, multiyear AI demand.
"Our plan will enable TSMC to scale up to an independent Gigafab cluster in Arizona to support the needs of our leading-edge customers in smartphone, AI and HPC [high-performance computing] applications," he said. Gigafab refers to chip facility clusters that can at least churn out more than 100,000 12-inch wafers a month.
Wei's comments came shortly after U.S. chipmaker Intel put its most cutting-edge 18A chip into mass production in Arizona.
Wei said the ramp-up schedule for the second plant in Japan and the first plant in Dresden, Germany, will be based on customer demand and market conditions.
TSMC reported a record profit for the July-September period as the AI computing wave continues to boost chip and data center spending.
Net profit for the quarter reached 452.3 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($15.12 billion), surging 39.1% from a year ago on revenue of NT$989.91 billion, a rise of 30% on the year and also a record high.
TSMC expected its revenue to be between $32.2 billion to $33.4 billion for the last quarter of 2025, growing 22% at the midpoint from a year ago, above industry estimates. The world's top chipmaker said it now expects about 35% growth for revenue for all 2025.
The contract chipmaker raised its 2025 capital expenditure plan to between $40 billion and $42 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $38 billion to $42 billion, due to structural AI-related demand remaining to be "very strong."
Wei downplayed the impact of export controls and Chinese restrictions on AI chips, saying that he has confidence in TSMC's customers. "If the China market is not available, I still think AI's growth will be very dramatic, and as I said, [they are] very positive in performance.
Shares in TSMC, the world's top chip manufacturer, have risen more than 50% this year, driven higher by investor optimism over demand for the company's products as key clients including Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom have signed multiyear partnerships with major AI service providers such as OpenAI and Oracle to expand AI data center capacity.
In addition to the AI boom, TSMC's record earnings have also been supported by new product launches from Apple, another major client, with its latest iPhones, iPads and MacBooks contributing to increased chip orders.
Applied Materials, the top U.S. chip equipment maker, said it does not see any slowdown in the AI boom and related demand, while top European chip tool maker ASML, another key TSMC supplier, on Wednesday said it does not expect its revenue for 2026 to be lower than 2025 despite a slowdown in its China business.
TSMC's revenue from North America continues to grow, hitting 76% in the July-September quarter, up from 71% from a year earlier, thanks to growing demand from all of the leading AI chip developers in the U.S. In contrast, revenue from China for the same period fell to 8%, down from 11% a year ago.
"Some negative impact from tariffs or a weakened economy has not materialized, suggesting TSMC's near-term performance remains well-supported and risk from external macroeconomic factors is manageable," said Arthur Lai, semiconductor analyst with Australian banking group Macquarie. TSMC's outlook is also being boosted as more AI chip clients migrate to even more advanced production nodes, which could help lift the company's average selling price, Lai added.
asia.nikkei.com
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. building in Phoenix, Arizona, is seen on Oct. 3. (Photo by Rebecca Noble)
TAIPEI -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday said it plans to speed up its time frame for producing advanced 2-nanometer chips in the U.S., while also signaling further expansion beyond the $165 billion it has already committed to investing in America, according to company Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei.
"We are preparing to upgrade our technologies faster to N2 [2-nm] and more advanced processes in Arizona, given the strong AI-related demand from our customers," Wei told investors and reporters in an earnings conference. Previously, TSMC had said its third plant in the U.S. state will produce 2-nm chips before the end of the decade.
Wei also said TSMC is close to securing a second large plot of land close to its Arizona site to provide more flexibility in response to the strong, multiyear AI demand.
"Our plan will enable TSMC to scale up to an independent Gigafab cluster in Arizona to support the needs of our leading-edge customers in smartphone, AI and HPC [high-performance computing] applications," he said. Gigafab refers to chip facility clusters that can at least churn out more than 100,000 12-inch wafers a month.
Wei's comments came shortly after U.S. chipmaker Intel put its most cutting-edge 18A chip into mass production in Arizona.
Wei said the ramp-up schedule for the second plant in Japan and the first plant in Dresden, Germany, will be based on customer demand and market conditions.
TSMC reported a record profit for the July-September period as the AI computing wave continues to boost chip and data center spending.
Net profit for the quarter reached 452.3 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($15.12 billion), surging 39.1% from a year ago on revenue of NT$989.91 billion, a rise of 30% on the year and also a record high.
TSMC expected its revenue to be between $32.2 billion to $33.4 billion for the last quarter of 2025, growing 22% at the midpoint from a year ago, above industry estimates. The world's top chipmaker said it now expects about 35% growth for revenue for all 2025.
The contract chipmaker raised its 2025 capital expenditure plan to between $40 billion and $42 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $38 billion to $42 billion, due to structural AI-related demand remaining to be "very strong."
Wei downplayed the impact of export controls and Chinese restrictions on AI chips, saying that he has confidence in TSMC's customers. "If the China market is not available, I still think AI's growth will be very dramatic, and as I said, [they are] very positive in performance.
Shares in TSMC, the world's top chip manufacturer, have risen more than 50% this year, driven higher by investor optimism over demand for the company's products as key clients including Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom have signed multiyear partnerships with major AI service providers such as OpenAI and Oracle to expand AI data center capacity.
In addition to the AI boom, TSMC's record earnings have also been supported by new product launches from Apple, another major client, with its latest iPhones, iPads and MacBooks contributing to increased chip orders.
Applied Materials, the top U.S. chip equipment maker, said it does not see any slowdown in the AI boom and related demand, while top European chip tool maker ASML, another key TSMC supplier, on Wednesday said it does not expect its revenue for 2026 to be lower than 2025 despite a slowdown in its China business.
TSMC's revenue from North America continues to grow, hitting 76% in the July-September quarter, up from 71% from a year earlier, thanks to growing demand from all of the leading AI chip developers in the U.S. In contrast, revenue from China for the same period fell to 8%, down from 11% a year ago.
"Some negative impact from tariffs or a weakened economy has not materialized, suggesting TSMC's near-term performance remains well-supported and risk from external macroeconomic factors is manageable," said Arthur Lai, semiconductor analyst with Australian banking group Macquarie. TSMC's outlook is also being boosted as more AI chip clients migrate to even more advanced production nodes, which could help lift the company's average selling price, Lai added.
TSMC to make advanced 2-nm chips in US sooner to meet AI demand
World's top chipmaker plans to secure land in Arizona beyond $165bn investment
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