TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker by revenue and has ranked among the highest-valued semiconductor companies.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, commonly called TSMC, pioneered the dedicated foundry model. It manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than competing primarily through its own branded processors. This lets customers such as NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD outsource production while focusing on chip design and software.
TSMC was founded in Taiwan in 1987 by Morris Chang. Its advanced manufacturing processes have made it strategically important to the global technology industry, particularly for smartphones, data centers, and artificial-intelligence hardware.
TSMC’s market capitalization rises and falls with expectations for semiconductor demand, technology leadership, and geopolitical risk. It is different from a fabless designer such as NVIDIA and from an integrated manufacturer such as Intel, although all operate in the semiconductor industry.