TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is one of the world's largest companies by market capitalization.
TSMC is the world's leading dedicated semiconductor foundry: it manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than primarily selling chips under its own consumer brand. Customers have included major technology companies that rely on advanced manufacturing processes.
Morris Chang founded TSMC in 1987 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The foundry model helped separate chip design from fabrication and allowed specialized designers to use TSMC's factories without owning comparable manufacturing plants.
TSMC's valuation is closely linked to demand for advanced processors used in smartphones, data centers, graphics, and artificial intelligence. The company is also commonly written as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, while TSMC is its standard English abbreviation.