TSMC is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry and a major market-capitalization company.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Its business model focused on manufacturing chips designed by other companies, rather than competing with customers by selling large lines of its own branded processors.
This foundry model became central to the modern semiconductor industry. TSMC manufactures chips for companies such as Nvidia, Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm. Its advanced process technologies are used in high-performance computing, smartphones, vehicles, and artificial-intelligence systems.
TSMC’s market value reflects both its manufacturing scale and the strategic importance of advanced chip production. A common confusion is calling TSMC a chip designer: it primarily manufactures semiconductors, while many of its customers design the processors and accelerators that TSMC produces.