TSMC is Taiwan’s leading contract chip manufacturer.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, commonly called TSMC, manufactures semiconductor designs for customers rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand. This business model is known as a dedicated foundry.
TSMC was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang and helped establish the modern separation between chip design and chip manufacturing. Companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and AMD can design processors while relying on specialist foundries to produce them.
TSMC is frequently confused with Intel or Samsung Electronics. Intel has historically designed and manufactured its own processors, while Samsung operates both chip-design and manufacturing businesses. TSMC’s central role is the production of chips for many different customers.