Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was founded in 1987.
TSMC was established in Hsinchu, Taiwan, by Morris Chang, with support from the government of Taiwan and Philips. Its central innovation was the dedicated semiconductor foundry model: TSMC manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand.
That model enabled many semiconductor designers to concentrate on architecture and product development while relying on TSMC for advanced manufacturing. Companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and AMD have been associated with foundry manufacturing relationships in the semiconductor industry, although specific arrangements can vary by product and period.
TSMC's rise reflects the increasing specialization of chip design and fabrication. The company became particularly important as processors grew more complex and manufacturing moved toward extremely small process nodes. The founding year is 1987, not 1997, the year of TSMC's listing on the New York Stock Exchange.