TSMC, formally Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is commonly identified by the ticker TSM.
TSMC was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Its central innovation was the dedicated semiconductor foundry model: it manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than competing with customers by selling its own branded processors.
That model made TSMC a crucial supplier for advanced chips used in smartphones, computers, data centers, automobiles, and artificial-intelligence systems. Its customers have included major chip designers such as Apple, Nvidia, and AMD. TSMC’s Taiwan-listed shares and New York Stock Exchange American depositary receipts are represented by different symbols; TSM is the widely cited U.S. ticker for its ADR.
TSMC is frequently confused with a chip-design company. Its strategic importance and high market capitalization reflect manufacturing scale, process technology, and customer relationships, not ownership of the consumer brands that use chips made in its factories.