Which company operates the TSMC semiconductor foundries, one of the world's most valuable chip manufacturers by market cap?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company operates the foundries that made it one of the world's most valuable chip manufacturers by market capitalization.

TSMC, commonly called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or Taiwan Semiconductor, was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang. Its central business model is contract manufacturing: it fabricates chips designed by other companies rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand.

That role makes TSMC crucial to companies such as Nvidia, Apple, and AMD. Its advanced manufacturing processes are used for high-performance processors, smartphones, artificial-intelligence accelerators, and other electronics.

A common mix-up is confusing TSMC with ASML. ASML makes the specialized lithography machines used by chip manufacturers, while TSMC runs semiconductor fabrication plants. TSMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.