TSMC became the first semiconductor foundry to manufacture chips using a 5-nanometer process for Apple.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, began mass production of 5-nanometer chips in 2020. The process was used for Apple’s A14 Bionic system-on-chip, introduced in products including the iPhone 12 and the fourth-generation iPad Air.
TSMC pioneered the dedicated semiconductor-foundry model. Instead of designing chips under its own consumer brand, it manufactures designs created by companies such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm. This separation lets chip designers outsource fabrication while TSMC invests in extremely expensive production facilities and process technology.
“5 nanometers” describes a semiconductor manufacturing generation, not necessarily the exact width of every feature on a finished chip. Smaller process nodes generally aim to improve performance, power efficiency, or transistor density, though comparisons between manufacturers are not perfectly uniform. TSMC was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.