Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday inaugurated its new global research-and-development (R&D) center in Hsinchu to further its development of next-generation technologies, including 2-nanometer and beyond, as the world’s biggest contract chipmaker seeks to safeguard its global technology leadership.
The launch of the R&D hub demonstrates the chipmaker’s long-term commitment to investing in Taiwan and its determination to keep its roots at home, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said in a speech at the inauguration.
Wei made the remarks amid concern about TSMC’s acceleration in expanding its global manufacturing footprint to the US and Japan in recent years.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The chipmaker is also considering building a fab in Germany to produce 28-nanometer chips used in vehicles in collaboration with its customers.
While TSMC’s overseas investments have sparked worries that the company might halt its development in Taiwan, Wei said that is not the case.
TSMC is expanding its overseas capacity with an aim to meet its customers’ needs, he said.
Photo: AFP / TSMC
The company expects the new R&D center to house more than 7,000 R&D engineers at full capacity by September, up from 2,200 people currently, it said.
“With the launch of the new global R&D center, TSMC will be more proactive in developing world-leading semiconductor technologies from 2-nanometer technology, 1.4-nanometer technology and smaller technologies,” TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said.
The company said that its 2-nanometer technology would be the world’s most advanced when it is introduced in 2025, duplicating its success in bringing its 3-nanometer technology to market ahead of its competitors.
Counting Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp among its major customers, TSMC commands about a 60 percent share of the global semiconductor market.
The chipmaker said continuous investment in leading-edge technologies is the key to safeguarding its technological leadership. Last year, TSMC spent 30 percent more on R&D, totaling US$5.47 billion, compared with US$4.47 billion in 2021.
Since the company’s inception more than 30 years ago, TSMC has been determined to build its own technology, TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) said yesterday.
It was a long road for TSMC to fulfill that goal and become a global semiconductor technology leader, he said, adding that the company secured its technological leadership only after it introduced its 7-nanometer technology.
For more than 20 years, TSMC has heavily invested in R&D efforts by allocating 8 percent of its total revenue to it, Chang said.
Last year, TSMC’s R&D spending greatly surpassed the US$2 billion spent by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he said.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS