Which Taiwanese manufacturer makes advanced chips for companies such as Apple and Nvidia and is commonly abbreviated TSMC?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company makes advanced chips for companies such as Apple and Nvidia and is commonly abbreviated TSMC.

TSMC was founded in Taiwan in 1987 by Morris Chang. Its major innovation was the dedicated semiconductor foundry model: it manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand. This lets customers focus on chip architecture and product design while using TSMC’s manufacturing facilities.

The company produces processors and other integrated circuits for smartphones, computers, data centers, automobiles, and industrial systems. Its leading-edge process technologies are especially important for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, where smaller and more efficient chips can improve speed and energy use.

TSMC’s market value reflects its role in global semiconductor supply chains, but the company is not the only major chip manufacturer. Samsung Electronics also operates advanced foundries, while Intel both designs chips and manufactures some of its own products. TSMC’s customers generally retain ownership of their chip designs.