TSMC is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry and a major high-market-cap company.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, usually called TSMC, was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang. It pioneered the pure-play foundry model: TSMC manufactures chips designed by other companies instead of competing with its customers by selling its own branded processors.
This model made TSMC a crucial supplier to companies such as Nvidia, Apple, and AMD. Its advanced manufacturing processes are used for powerful processors in smartphones, data centers, graphics systems, and artificial-intelligence hardware.
TSMC’s market capitalization has risen with demand for advanced chips, but its business is different from that of a chip designer. Nvidia designs many AI processors, while TSMC fabricates chips for customers. That distinction explains why both companies can be major market-cap leaders without performing the same role.