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TSMC CEO Highlights U.S. Investment Driven by Strong Customer Demand

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Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC (2330.TW) announced that its increased investment in the United States is primarily driven by strong customer demand, with production lines already fully booked for this year and the next two years. CEO C.C. Wei revealed the company’s expansion plans during a press conference at Taiwan’s presidential office on Thursday. Wei emphasized that TSMC’s $100 billion investment plan, unveiled this week, would not affect its ongoing expansion efforts in Taiwan, despite concerns that overseas investments might harm the island’s semiconductor industry.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to construct five additional chip facilities abroad, including in the U.S., Japan, and Germany. This expansion comes in response to demands from major U.S. clients like Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. While TSMC is planning three new production lines in the U.S. over the coming years, it is also set to build 11 new production lines in Taiwan this year, a sign that Taiwan remains crucial to the company’s global operations.

Wei’s comments follow ongoing pressure from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticized Taiwan for taking U.S. semiconductor business and has advocated for bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to U.S. soil. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te assured that Taiwan has not faced external pressure from the U.S. during TSMC’s investment decisions and pledged government support for the company’s domestic expansion.

While Taiwan maintains its dominance in the global semiconductor industry, concerns about over-reliance on the island, particularly amid rising tensions with China, have prompted discussions about diversifying production sites. TSMC’s expansion into the U.S. is seen as a potential solution to address supply chain risks for American technology companies.

Despite these developments, Trump recently called for the repeal of the 2022 bipartisan law that provides $52.7 billion in U.S. subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing, suggesting the funds should instead be used to pay off national debt.

Trump Calls for Repeal of $52.7 Billion Semiconductor Subsidy Law

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Former President Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the landmark 2022 bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which allocated $52.7 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing and production. Trump, in a speech to Congress on Tuesday, criticized the act, describing it as a “horrible, horrible thing” and argued that the money allocated had not been effectively spent. He urged lawmakers to cancel the CHIPS Act and redirect the remaining funds towards reducing the national debt.

The CHIPS Act, signed by President Joe Biden in August 2022, includes $39 billion for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, along with $75 billion in government lending authority aimed at bolstering the country’s tech industry and addressing national security concerns related to semiconductor imports. The law has been praised by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who previously expressed his desire to review the awards finalized under Biden’s administration, which facilitated major semiconductor firms such as Samsung, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and Micron in establishing factories in the U.S.

Trump’s remarks mark his strongest criticism of the CHIPS Act, suggesting that avoiding new tariffs would be sufficient to encourage domestic semiconductor production. Critics, however, argue that the law is crucial for securing investments, such as TSMC’s $100 billion plan to build five chip facilities in the U.S., which would create tens of thousands of jobs. New York Governor Kathy Hochul highlighted that Micron’s $100 billion investment in Central New York, which could generate 50,000 jobs, was a direct result of the CHIPS Act.

While Trump’s position may undermine the funding for key semiconductor projects, officials are concerned that repealing the law could harm Arizona’s semiconductor industry and jeopardize job creation. Recent reports also indicated significant layoffs within the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees the semiconductor subsidies, raising questions about the future of the industry under a potential new administration.

OpenAI Set to Finalize First Custom Chip Design This Year

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OpenAI is advancing toward its goal of reducing its reliance on Nvidia by finalizing the design of its first in-house artificial intelligence (AI) chip, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company plans to send its first custom-designed chip for fabrication at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in the coming months, marking a significant step toward mass production, which is expected to begin in 2026.

The process, referred to as “taping out,” involves sending the chip design to a factory for production. While the initial tape-out can cost tens of millions of dollars and take six months for completion, there’s no guarantee the first version of the chip will be successful. If issues arise, OpenAI would need to diagnose and repeat the tape-out process, which can delay production further.

OpenAI views this chip development as a strategic move to enhance its negotiating position with other chip suppliers. The company’s engineers plan to build upon this initial design, creating increasingly advanced processors with broader capabilities for future iterations. If the first tape-out is successful, OpenAI aims to test its custom AI chip as a potential alternative to Nvidia’s chips later this year.

OpenAI’s in-house team, led by Richard Ho, who joined from Google’s custom AI chip program, is collaborating with Broadcom to design the chip. Despite being a smaller team compared to those at tech giants like Google and Amazon, OpenAI’s chip development is progressing at a remarkable pace, outpacing the years-long efforts of other companies in the space.

Currently, Nvidia dominates the AI chip market with an 80% share, but the increasing costs and reliance on a single supplier have prompted major companies, including OpenAI, to explore alternatives. OpenAI’s custom chip is designed to train and run AI models and will initially be deployed on a limited scale. The chip will be manufactured using TSMC’s advanced 3-nanometer process technology and will feature systolic array architecture, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and extensive networking capabilities—similar to Nvidia’s chips.

While the first chip is expected to play a limited role within OpenAI’s infrastructure, the company plans to expand its AI chip program in the future. To match the scale of Google or Amazon’s AI chip programs, OpenAI would need to expand its engineering team significantly.