Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) 12-inch wafer fab in Nanjing, China, is likely to start shipping to its customers in May, company co-chief executive officer Mark Liu (劉德音) told the chipmaker’s annual supply chain management forum on Thursday.
The timetable is about six months earlier than scheduled and indicative of the company’s leading status in the global contract chipmaking industry, as well as its ambition to seek a bigger share in the Chinese market.
TSMC broke ground for construction of the Nanjing plant in July last year and had scheduled mass production for the second half of next year.
The company has earmarked a budget of US$3 billion for the plant, dubbed Fab 16, along with a new design service center.
When construction is completed, it is to be the first factory in China capable of producing 16 nanometer (nm) chips and could help TSMC secure more orders as demand remains strong.
During the forum, Liu said TSMC has seen a wide range of applications in the development of artificial intelligence and 5G wireless technology since the company started pushing for four major growth segments — mobile, high-performance computing, automotive and Internet of Things platforms — two years ago.
To meet rising demand from chip designers and electronic companies for advanced semiconductors, TSMC is expected to start mass production of its 7nm chips next year, Liu said, adding that the firm is in talks with more than 40 customers for 7nm technology.
The company’s Fab 12 in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and Fab 15 in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) will be the major production bases for 7nm chips, he said.
On Friday, TSMC said in a statement that revenue last month rose 0.1 percent year-on-year to NT$93.16 billion (US$3.1 billion), down 1.4 percent from October. In the first 11 months, cumulative revenue totaled NT$877.55 billion, up 2 percent from the same period last year, the company said.
Meanwhile, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the nation’s second-largest contract chipmaker, on Friday reported revenue of NT$12.15 billion for last month, down 5.89 percent year-on-year and nearly 12 percent month-on-month, with January-to-November revenue rising 2.44 percent from a year ago to NT$138.62 billion.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
RSS