TSMC Chases Soaring AI Demand

By Alan Patterson, EE Times | April 17, 2026

TSMC is boosting spending plans as it chases soaring AI demand and outpaces its chipmaking rivals.

The world’s largest chip foundry this week said it expects to spend nearly $56 billion this year as it “invests heavily” in production capacity to meet demand from AI customers such as Nvidia, AMD, and Apple. Even at that increased level of spending, TSMC didn’t deny that it will still probably fall short of demand in 2027.

“It takes two to three years to build a new fab, no shortcuts,” CEO C.C. Wei said on a conference call this week to announce first-quarter 2026 results. “It takes another one to two years to ramp it up.”

The company said it will rush construction of three new fabs in Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S. to make 3-nm chips. The Taiwan facility will start production in the first half of 2027, followed by the U.S. site in late 2027 and Japan in 2028.

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