TSMC is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry business.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, usually called TSMC, manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand. This contract-manufacturing model is known as the foundry model and has made TSMC a central company in the global technology economy.
TSMC was founded in Taiwan in 1987 by Morris Chang. Its customers have included leading designers of smartphone processors, graphics processors, and other advanced chips. The company’s ability to produce chips using increasingly small process technologies has helped it become one of the world’s most valuable listed businesses.
TSMC is sometimes confused with Samsung Electronics, which both designs and manufactures semiconductors, or Intel, which historically focused more heavily on its own chip designs. TSMC’s defining distinction is its dedicated foundry role: it manufactures products designed by customers such as Apple and AMD.