Who founded TSMC, the world’s largest dedicated contract chipmaker?

Morris Chang founded TSMC, the world’s largest dedicated contract chipmaker.

Chang established Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in 1987 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. His central idea was to create a semiconductor foundry that manufactured chips designed by other companies, rather than competing with customers by selling its own branded chips.

That foundry model transformed the chip industry. Companies could design processors and outsource production to TSMC instead of building and operating their own advanced fabrication plants. This arrangement helped specialized designers scale while TSMC invested heavily in manufacturing technology.

TSMC is sometimes confused with semiconductor designers such as Nvidia or AMD. Those companies create chip designs, while TSMC primarily manufactures chips for customers. Chang had previously held senior roles at Texas Instruments before founding the Taiwanese company.