TSMC to invest $100 billion in production capacity by 2024

Posted on Thursday, April 01 2021 @ 9:48 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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One of the biggest problems of the computer and electronics industry over the past couple of months has not been a lack of demand but a massive supply problem. Chip factories are working at full capacity and some products like video cards have been pretty much unavailable for months -- unless you want to pay a ridiculous price.

TSMC plans to invest $100 billion over next three years

Last week, new Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger revealed his plan to invest $20 billion in extra production capacity. Gelsinger talked about a big expansion in Arizona and hinted at a future factory in Europe.

There's been a big push in the US and Europe to bring back chip manufacturing as there's a general sense that the current concentration of semiconductor foundries in Asia poses too much of a geopolitical risk. Following succesful plans from the US government to bring more production capacity to the US, the European Commission is also going down this path to increase its relevance in the digital world. Europe's leaders want to lure a foundry to the continent, to set up advanced semiconductor production capacity.

TSMC is the world's largest chip foundry and the company is definitely not slowing down. In a statement to Taiwanese media, TSMC revealed it plans to invest $100 billion over the next three years to enhance its production capacity:
“TSMC expects to invest USD$100b over the next three years to increase capacity to support the manufacturing and R&D of advanced semiconductor technologies,” the company said in a statement responding to local media reports. “TSMC is working closely with our customers to address their needs in a sustainable manner.”
TSMC foresees a multi-year period of higher growth, driven by the adoption of 5G as well as high-performance computing. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei recently told customers the foundry has been running at "over 100%" utilization over the past 12 months -- yet TSMC was still unable to meet demand.

The foundry is hiring thousands of new employees and constructing several new factories to address the higher demand. Furthermore, TSMC will suspend wafer price discounts for a year from the start of 2022.

TSMC's envisioned outlay of $100 billion over the next three years dwarfs the plans of its biggest rivals. For comparison, Samsung expects to invest $116 billion over the coming decade.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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