TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TSMC Chair C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said Thursday the company will add more 3nm production lines at the Southern Taiwan Science Park and convert its 5nm equipment in Taiwan to 3nm to meet growing AI demand.
The company has large-scale fabs at the science park, primarily focused on 5nm and 3nm chips. It added that a new 3nm fab will be built near the existing facility this year, with mass production scheduled to begin in the second half of next year, per CNA.
In March, TSMC said it will also begin construction of another plant at the park this year, with completion scheduled for 2028. The new facility is expected to target 2nm or 1.6nm chips, aiming to increase chip density and reduce power consumption for use in AI applications.
The company said its second wafer fabrication plant in Arizona has been completed. The facility will adopt a 3nm process and is scheduled to begin mass production in the second half of next year.
Its second fab in Japan’s Kumamoto is under construction. The facility will also focus on 3nm processes and is expected to begin mass production in 2028. Once completed, the two plants are expected to employ a combined 3,400 people.
Demand for 3nm chips remains strong, driven mainly by applications in AI data centers, EVs, high-end smartphones, and advanced robotics, the company added.
The company noted that its 2nm process entered mass production in last year’s fourth quarter. Its main production bases are two fabs in the Hsinchu Science Park and the technology industrial park in Kaohsiung’s Nanzi District.
Wei estimated that TSMC’s revenue in the second quarter could reach NT$1.13 trillion (US$40.2 billion), up 10% from the first quarter. He forecast full-year revenue growth of more than 30% to about NT$5.06 trillion, mainly driven by rising demand for chips used in high-performance computing devices.
TSMC CFO Wendell Huang (黃仁昭) said the company has sufficient stock of specialty gases such as helium and hydrogen. He added that TSMC is also strengthening diversified sourcing channels to ensure supply stability and prevent disruptions caused by the war in Iran.
Semiconductor manufacturing depends on specialty gases for key processes such as thin-film deposition, wafer etching, cleaning, and surface treatment.
