Time magazine has listed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電, TSMC) chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) as one of the 100 most influential people in the world this year.
On the list published yesterday, Wei was featured in the Pioneers category, one of six groups that include Artists, Icons, Leaders, Titans and Innovators.
His entry features a profile written by Nvidia Corp founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), who lauded Wei's leadership in "one of the world's most consequential companies."
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
In the profile, Huang described Wei as a humble yet disciplined leader who has steered TSMC to become more than just a chipmaker.
Under Wei's stewardship, the company has evolved into a foundational technology platform for global industry, Huang said.
Wei is "a leader, partner, and friend I have known for over 20 years," Huang wrote.
Wei recognized early on that the global computing landscape was shifting from mobile-first to artificial intelligence (AI)-first computing, he said.
Wei's vision guided TSMC's transition from "only fabricating chips to also creating integrated systems of chips — assembled in complex 3D packages and soon connected with silicon photonics," Huang said.
These advances “made Nvidia’s AI supercomputers possible and helped ignite today’s AI revolution,” he said.
TSMC's pure foundry model, established by TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀), is built on trust, excellence and partnership, and has been enhanced under Wei's leadership, Huang said.
Today, TSMC's consistent commitment to customers — from the personal computer era to the Internet, mobile devices and now AI — has made the company "indispensable," he added.
"C.C. Wei is truly one of the most influential people of our time," Huang said.
Other global figures listed this year include US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Leo XIV.
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