Following the excitement around the release of the latest PlayStation 5 Pro, Taiwanese gaming accessories brand Brook Gaming has introduced two new accessories designed specifically for PlayStation 5 games. These new products include the Wingman FGC 2 Converter, supporting over 150 wired controllers from the past 20 years, providing cross-platform and cross-generation compatibility for all PS5 games. Brook Gaming has also launched the latest in their renowned Brook Fighting series, the Gen-5X Series Fighting Boards, allowing players to customize their gaming experience to match their unique preferences.

Brook Gaming believes that "every gamer should be able to enjoy the fun of gaming in their own unique style." These new PlayStation 5 accessories empower players with complete control over their gaming experience, free to choose their preferred controllers and fight sticks.

Elitegroup Computer Systems, with its long-standing expertise in computer motherboard design, has successfully developed the CubeSat On-Board Computer (OBC). This groundbreaking product will carry a payload and is set to launch aboard the Lilium3 CubeSat from National Cheng Kung University, expected to lift off in Q4 2025, initiating space experiments.

In parallel, ECS has developed the high-performance OBCC6M7R motherboard specifically designed for CubeSats, which will officially begin accepting orders for sale starting in November this year. The introduction of this product will accelerate ECS's commercialization of space industry technologies, injecting strong momentum into the company's future growth.

Even with billions of US dollars being invested overseas, TSMC cannot legally manufacture its most advanced nodes outside of Taiwan. According to Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo, "Since Taiwan has regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently." He added, "Although TSMC plans to make 2-nanometer chips [abroad] in the future, its core technology will stay in Taiwan." This provides crucial insight into TSMC's strategic positioning, both in its US expansion plans and in navigating global geopolitical waters, especially with Taiwan being the major hub of silicon innovation. Taiwan's semiconductor industry follows strict regulations regarding overseas production capabilities, requiring companies to maintain their most advanced manufacturing processes within Taiwan.

The company's international expansion strategy includes significant developments in the United States. TSMC's Arizona facilities are central to these plans, with multiple fabs in different stages of development. The initial Arizona facility will begin producing 4 nm chips imminently, while a second facility, scheduled to open in 2028, will manufacture then mature 3 nm and 2 nm chips. A third planned facility aims to produce 2 nm or more sophisticated chips. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based facilities will produce more advanced chips at the same time, with volume production of A-16 chips planned for late 2026, following the rollout of 2 nm chip production in 2025. Furthermore, Taiwan-US semiconductor cooperation will continue regardless of political changes. Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) Chairman and TSMC Senior Vice President Cliff Hou noted that historical evidence suggests US electoral outcomes have not significantly impacted this technological partnership, though some adjustments may occur.

The American semiconductor landscape reached a significant milestone as TSMC's new Arizona manufacturing facility demonstrated remarkable production efficiency, exceeding its Taiwanese counterparts by 4% in yield rates. This achievement, revealed at a recent industry webinar by the company's US division chief, represents a major step forward in America's push to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing capabilities. Since initiating its 4 nm node production operations this spring, the Phoenix-based facility has demonstrated impressive technical proficiency, achieving production standards that match and surpass TSMC's established Taiwanese facilities. The project, backed by substantial federal support, including $11.6 billion in combined grants and loans plus significant tax incentives, aims to establish three cutting-edge manufacturing plants in Arizona.

The company's global leadership praised the facility's performance, noting its strategic importance in demonstrating TSMC's ability to maintain exceptional manufacturing standards across international locations. This success carries particular weight given the project's earlier hurdles, which included workforce challenges and timeline adjustments that shifted the entire production schedule by approximately one year. This development gains additional significance against industry-wide challenges, particularly as competitors like Intel and Samsung face operational and financial obstacles. The semiconductor giant's plans now extend to potential further expansion, with the Phoenix site capable of hosting up to six manufacturing facilities. Future growth prospects could be enhanced by proposed additional government initiatives supporting domestic chip production.

TSMC has reportedly initiated production of Apple's last-generation A16 Bionic processors at its newly constructed Fab 21 in Arizona. This development comes significantly earlier than anticipated, with the facility's full-scale production initially scheduled for 2025. According to insights from industry expert Tim Culpan, the Arizona plant is already churning out a modest but noteworthy quantity of A16 Bionic chips. These processors are being manufactured using TSMC's NP4 4 nm semiconductor node. Culpan also hinted at a substantial increase in production capacity once the second stage of Fab 21's initial phase becomes operational.

This early start serves a critical function for TSMC, allowing the company to calibrate its advanced equipment and refine its manufacturing processes thoroughly. Using the well-established A16 Bionic design, TSMC can ensure its new facility meets the exacting standards required for next-generation semiconductor production. The news aligns with recent industry buzz suggesting that Fab 21 is already achieving yield rates comparable to TSMC's long-established Taiwanese plants—a remarkable feat for a newly launched facility. While current output remains limited, this milestone marks a significant step in TSMC's expansion into US-based chip manufacturing. With more fabs on American soil, companies can push domestic manufacturing and ensure that geopolitics don't hinder the vital supply chain.

TSMC has reportedly managed to produce yields at its Arizona facility that are on par with yields back home in Taiwan, making its expansion efforts successful. According to Bloomberg, TSMC did a trial production, a multi-month effort, to produce N4 node wafers with low defect rates. With wafers now in TSMC's labs for testing, it is reported that Arizona facility yields have achieved parity with their Taiwanese facilities back home. This indicates that TSMC's efforts to expand in the US are so far considered a success, as advanced chipmaking is a very complex process that is only done by a few makers and in very few locations. With TSMC expanding in the US now and proving that its technology can work on US soil, the company has a green light to start volume production in the first half of 2025.

However, this is only the beginning of TSMC's Arizona expansion. The Taiwanese giant plans to have a second fab operational by 2028 and produce 2 nm and 3 nm chips in the state. Additionally, there will be a third facility for 2 nm and more advanced nodes in Phoenix, bringing the total value of TSMC's US expansion efforts to $65 billion, with $6.6 billion from the CHIPS Act grants and $5 billion in loans from the US government. If upcoming fabs follow the lead of the first facility, US-based production needs will possibly be satisfied.

According to a recent report from Nikkei, China has claimed the number one spot as the single highest spender on chipmaking tools. As the data from SEMI highlights, China spent a whopping $25 billion on key semiconductor tools in the first half of 2024, more than the US, Taiwan, and South Korea combined. And the train of acceleration for the Chinese semiconductor industry doesn't seem to be slowing down, as the country is expected to spend more than $50 billion for the entire year 2024. However, this equipment is not precisely leading-edge, as Chinese companies are under Western sanctions and are unable to source advanced EUV lithography tools for making sub-7 nm chips.

Most of the spending is allocated to mature node chipmaking facilities. These so-called "second tier" companies are driving the massive expenditures, and they are plentiful. Nikkei reports that there are at least ten firms that operate with mature nodes like 10/12/16 nm nodes. Being the biggest spender, China is also one of the primary revenue sources for many companies. For the US chipmaking tool companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA, Chinese purchases accounted for 32%, 39%, and 44% of their latest quarterly revenue, respectively. Tokyo Electron recorded orders to China accounting for 49.9% of its revenues in June, while the Netherlands giant ASML also attributed 49%. Perhaps even more interesting is the expected outlook for 2025, which shows no signs of slowing down. The Chinese semiconductor industry must establish complete self-sufficiency, and massive capital expenditures are expected to continue.

Micron has been on a spending spree in Taiwan, where the company has been looking for new facilities. Micron has agreed to buy no less than three LCD plants from display maker AUO, which are located in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung. Micron is looking at paying NT$ 8.1 billion (~US$253.3 million). Initially, Micron was interested in buying another plant in Tainan from Innolux, but was turned down, so Micron turned to AUO for the purchases. Earlier this year, TSMC spent NT$17 billion (~US$531.6 million) to buy a similar facility from Innolux, but it seems that Innolux wasn't willing to part with any more facilities this year.

The three AUO plants are said to have produced LCD colour filters and the two of the plants had closed for production earlier this month. However, it appears that for some reason, the plant that is still in operation, will be leased by AUO and the company will continue production of colour filters in the factory. The larger plant measures 146,033 square metres, with the smaller measuring 32,500 square metres. As for Micron's plans, not much is known at this point in time, but the company has announced that it's planning on using at least some of the space for front-end wafer testing and that the new plants will support its current and upcoming DRAM production fabs in Taichung and Taoyuan, which the company is currently expanding. Market sources in Taiwan are quoted as saying that the focus will be on HBM memory, due to the high demand from various AI products in the market, least not from NVIDIA. The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.

The demand for AI accelerators is going strong, and the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC, has just confirmed that with its July 2024 revenue report. According to its latest July 2024 data, TSMC has reported a consolidated revenue of NT$256.95 billion, or about $7.94 billion at the time of writing. This represents a massive 23.6% jump from June 2024 and a 44.7% from July 2023, when revenue came in at NT$207.869 billion and NT$177.616 billion, respectively. For revenue throughout the year, measured from January to July, TSMC booked NT$1.523 trillion, or about $47 billion at the current rate. For this 7-month period, TSMC's revenue has increased by 30.5% Year-on-Year (YoY), showing great demand and an uptick in the company's production capabilities.

Of course, this is possible thanks to the massive demand driving AI chip sales from various startups and established giants like NVIDIA and AMD. Another vital customer for TSMC is Apple, which produces smartphone and Mac chips at Taiwanese facilities. The solid financial results from TSMC suggest that other fabless chip designers in its ecosystem may also experience positive outcomes in their earnings. It's worth noting that the semiconductor supply chain operates on a long-term planning basis, with arrangements made months in advance. As such, we can expect advanced silicon solutions to reach new customers in the coming months, further driving growth in the sector.

New insights from Omdia's Desktop Monitor Intelligence Service show the gaming monitor market, featuring refresh rates over 120 Hz, is expected to grow by 9% YoY to 24.7 million units in 2024. Meanwhile, the smart monitor market, equipped with operating systems and streaming service portals, is projected to expand by 63% YoY to 1.2 million units.

In 1Q24, desktop monitor shipments hit 30.7 million units, a 5% increase year-on-year (YoY). The industry has been growing steadily since 3Q23, overcoming post-pandemic logistical disruptions. Notably, the gaming monitor market and smart monitors are expanding rapidly. This growth is driven by added value and high functionality, particularly in both monitor categories.

Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC is reportedly planning to increase its wafer prices by up to 10% in 2025, according to a Morgan Stanley note cited by investor Eric Jhonsa. The move comes as demand for cutting-edge processors in smartphones, PCs, AI accelerators, and HPC continues to surge. Industry insiders reveal that TSMC's state-of-the-art 4 nm and 5 nm nodes, used for AI and HPC customers such as AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel, could see up to 10% price hikes. This increase would push the cost of 4 nm-class wafers from $18,000 to approximately $20,000, representing a significant 25% rise since early 2021 for some clients and an 11% rise from the last price hike. Talks about price hikes with major smartphone manufacturers like Apple have proven challenging, but there are indications that modest price increases are being accepted across the industry. Morgan Stanley analysts project a 4% average selling price increase for 3 nm wafers in 2025, which are currently priced at $20,000 or more per wafer.

Mature nodes like 16 nm are unlikely to see price increases due to sufficient capacity. However, TSMC is signaling potential shortages in leading-edge capacity to encourage customers to secure their allocations. Adding to the industry's challenges, advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging prices are expected to rise by 20% over the next two years, following previous increases in 2022 and 2023. TSMC aims to boost its gross margin to 53-54% by 2025, anticipating that customers will absorb these additional costs. The impact of these price hikes on end-user products remains uncertain. Competing foundries like Intel and Samsung may seize this opportunity to offer more competitive pricing, potentially prompting some chip designers to consider alternative manufacturing options. Additionally, TSMC's customers could reportedly be unable to secure their capacity allocation without "appreciating TSMC's value."

A recent report from Taiwan TV News has revealed that TSMC's overseas expansion plans will only contribute around 10% of the company's total silicon production capacity. TSMC's overseas expansion strategy has been a topic of significant interest in the tech industry as the company seeks to diversify its manufacturing capabilities beyond its home base in Taiwan. The company has announced plans to build new fabrication plants in the United States, Japan, and potentially other regions in an effort to mitigate supply chain risks and better serve its global customer base. However, according to the report, these overseas facilities will only account for a small fraction of 10% of TSMC's overall production capacity.

The majority of the company's manufacturing will continue to be centered in Taiwan, where it maintains its most advanced and high-volume fabs. There are also significant challenges and investments required to establish new semiconductor manufacturing facilities overseas. Building a state-of-the-art fab can cost billions of dollars and take several years to complete, making it a complex and capital-intensive undertaking. Despite the relatively small contribution of its overseas facilities, TSMC's global expansion is still seen as a crucial step in diversifying its supply chain and mitigating geopolitical risks. The company's ability to maintain its technological leadership and meet the growing demand for advanced chips will be crucial in the years to come.

On June 5th, Vanguard and NXP announced plans to jointly establish VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC) in Singapore to build a 12-inch wafer plant. TrendForce posits that this move reflects the trend of global supply chains shifting "Out of China, Out of Taiwan"(OOC/OOT), with Taiwanese companies accelerating their overseas expansion to improve regional capacity flexibility and competitiveness.

TrendForce noted that the semiconductor supply chain has been diversifying over the past two years to mitigate geopolitical and pandemic-related risks, forming two major segments: China's domestic supply chain and a non-China supply chain. Recent US tariff increases have accelerated this shift, leading to increased orders from American customers.

At COMPUTEX 2024, MediaTek will showcase new products and technology demonstrations, featuring highlights in AI, Smart TVs, Chromebooks, IoT and more, in addition to a keynote by Vice Chairman and CEO Dr. Rick Tsai about how MediaTek can enable ubiquitous AI.

At this year's show, MediaTek will debut two new chipsets with powerful performance and support for the latest AI enhancements across multiple verticals: the Kompanio 838 SoC for premium Chromebooks, and the Pentonic 800 SoC for 4K premium smart TVs and displays.

According to the Taiwan Central News Agency AMD is considering opening up an R&D center in Taiwan. AMD is said to have applied with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) as part of Taiwan's "A+ global R&D and innovation partnership program" to set up a new R&D facility. The government partnership program covers three types of fields, namely AI, new-generation semiconductors including high-power and high-frequency ICs, and new 5G network structures and it's aiming for both local and international businesses to set up new R&D centers. AMD has yet to announce any plans about the potential R&D center and the MOEA has declined to share any details with local media in Taiwan.

However, an unnamed source with inside knowledge in the matter has revealed that AMD is looking at investing around NT$5 billion (~US$155 million), based on the application. The same source also mentioned that the MOEA has stipulated conditions that AMD has to meet, which among other things involves working with local IC design companies to help further develop Taiwan's IC design industry, working with local companies to produce servers with AI chips and working with local universities to cultivate talent. Furthermore, the MOEA is said to have asked AMD to recruit at least 20 percent of its R&D centre workforce from outside of Taiwan, to avoid competing with local companies for staff. AMD could be making an announcement about the R&D center at Computex, but it's worth keeping in mind that these things take time. Back in 2021, NVIDIA announced that it would set up an R&D center in Taiwan, but with a much bigger budget of NT$24.3 billion plus a government subsidy of a further NT$6.7 billion. NVIDIA has as yet to announce the opening of its Taiwan R&D center.

A recent Reuters investigation has uncovered evidence suggesting Chinese universities and research institutes may have circumvented US sanctions on high-performance NVIDIA GPUs by purchasing servers containing the restricted chips. The sanctions tightened on November 17, 2023, prohibit the export of advanced NVIDIA GPUs like the consumer GeForce RTX 4090 to China. Despite these restrictions, Reuters found that at least ten China-based organizations acquired servers equipped with the sanctioned NVIDIA GPUs between November 20, 2023, and February 28, 2024. These servers were purchased from major vendors such as Dell, Gigabyte, and Supermicro, raising concerns about potential sanctions evasion. When contacted by Reuters, the companies provided varying responses.

Dell stated that it had not observed any instances of servers with restricted chips being shipped to China and expressed willingness to terminate relationships with resellers found to be violating export control regulations. Gigabyte, on the other hand, stated that it adheres to Taiwanese laws and international regulations. Notably, the sale and purchase of the sanctioned GPUs are not illegal in China. This raises the possibility that the restricted NVIDIA chips may have already been present in the country before the sanctions took effect on November 17, 2023. The findings highlight the challenges in enforcing export controls on advanced technologies, particularly in the realm of high-performance computing hardware. As tensions between the US and China continue to rise, the potential for further tightening of export restrictions on cutting-edge technologies remains a possibility.

As a part of its Q1 earnings call discussion, one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers, TSMC, has unveiled a strategic move to charge a premium for chips manufactured at its newly established overseas fabrication plants. During an earnings call, TSMC's CEO, C.C. Wei, announced that the company will impose higher pricing for chips produced outside Taiwan to offset the higher operational costs associated with these international locations. This move aims to maintain TSMC's target gross margin of 53% amidst rising expenses such as inflation and elevated electricity costs. This decision comes as TSMC expands its global footprint with new facilities in the United States, Germany, and Japan (JAMS) to meet the increasing demand for semiconductor chips worldwide. The company's new US-based Arizona facility, known as Fab 21, has faced delays due to equipment installation issues and labor negotiations.

Chips produced at this site, utilizing TSMC's advanced N5 and N4 nodes, could cost between 20% to 30% more than those manufactured in Taiwan. TSMC's strategy to manage the cost disparities across different geographic locations involves strategic pricing, securing government support, and leveraging its manufacturing technology leadership. This approach reflects the company's commitment to maintaining its competitive edge while navigating the complexities of global semiconductor manufacturing in today's fragmented market. Introducing a location premium is expected to impact American semiconductor designers, who may need to pass these costs on to specific market segments, particularly those with lower price sensitivity, such as government-related projects. Despite these challenges, TSMC's overseas expansion underscores its adaptive strategies in the face of global economic pressures and industry demands, ensuring its continued position as a leading player in the semiconductor industry.

Following in the wake of an earthquake that struck on April 3rd, TrendForce undertook an in-depth analysis of its effects on the DRAM industry, uncovering a sector that has shown remarkable resilience and faced minimal interruptions. Despite some damage and the necessity for inspections or disposal of wafers among suppliers, the facilities' strong earthquake preparedness of the facilities has kept the overall impact to a minimum.

Leading DRAM producers, including Micron, Nanya, PSMC, and Winbond had all returned to full operational status by April 8th. In particular, Micron's progression to cutting-edge processes—specifically the 1alpha and 1beta nm technologies—is anticipated to significantly alter the landscape of DRAM bit production. In contrast, other Taiwanese DRAM manufacturers are still working with 38 and 25 nm processes, contributing less to total output. TrendForce estimates that the earthquake's effect on DRAM production for the second quarter will be limited to a manageable 1%.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) today reported that following the earthquake that struck Taiwan on April 3, 2024, all of Micron's team members have been accounted for and reported to be safe. Our thoughts are with those affected and their families. We are evaluating impact to our operations and supply chain. We will communicate changes to delivery commitments to our customers after this evaluation is completed.

At 07:58 local time, Taiwan was rocked by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on the east coast which was felt nationwide and as far as to the southeastern parts of China and southern Japan. It caused some major damage in the east coast city of Hualien where the epicentre of the quake was located, as well as surrounding areas. The earthquake reportedly left nine people dead and over 900 people injured islandwide. TSMC, UMC, PSMC and Innolux all halted some of their production lines in the Hsinchu Science Park on the west coast of the island, although this is said to have been as a preventive step, rather than caused by actual damage from the earthquake.

All the above-mentioned companies also evacuated their staff from their factories due to the intensity of the quake, as it reached a magnitude of around four or five almost island wide. The semiconductor manufacturers are all inspecting their fabs now to make sure none of the equipment was damaged by the earthquake. Innolux also has a factory in the southern city of Kaohsiung and has reported that it has suspended production in Hsinchu, but that production in Kaohsiung wasn't affected. Local media in Taiwan hasn't made any mention of the likes of Micron or other chip manufacturers, but it's likely that the situation is similar, since all of these companies are located in the same areas on the island. Aftershocks have continued throughout the day and there's a risk for further big earthquakes to follow in the coming days.Images courtesy of the Taiwan Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Update 15:11 UTC: Updated with an official statement from Micron below.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) managed to herd government representatives and leading Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry figures together for an important meeting, according to DigiTimes Asia. The report suggests that the main topic of discussion focused on an anticipated growth of Taiwan's ICT industry—current market trends were analyzed, revealing that the nation absolutely dominates in the AI server segment. The MOEA has (allegedly) determined that Taiwan has shipped 90% of global AI server equipment—DigiTimes claims (based on insider info) that: "American brand vendors are expected to source their AI servers from Taiwanese partners." North American customers could be (presently) 100% reliant on supplies of Taiwanese-produced equipment—a scenario that potentially complicates ongoing international tensions.

The report posits that involved parties have formed plans to seize opportunities within an evergrowing global demand for AI hardware—a 90% market dominance is clearly not enough for some very ambitious industry bosses—although manufacturers will need to jump over several (rising) cost hurdles. Key components for AI servers are reported to be much higher than vanilla server parts—DigiTimes believes that AI processor/accelerator chips are priced close to ten times higher than general purpose server CPUs. Similar price hikes have reportedly affected AI adjacent component supply chains—notably cooling, power supplies and passive parts. Taiwanese manufacturers have spread operations around the world, but industry watchdogs (largely) believe that the best stuff gets produced on home ground—global expansions are underway, perhaps inching closer to better balanced supply conditions.

A manufacturing plant near Hsinchu, Taiwan's Silicon Valley, is among facilities worldwide boosting energy efficiency with AI-enabled digital twins. A virtual model can help streamline operations, maximizing throughput for its physical counterpart, say engineers at Wistron, a global designer and manufacturer of computers and electronics systems. In the first of several use cases, the company built a digital copy of a room where NVIDIA DGX systems undergo thermal stress tests (pictured above). Early results were impressive.

Making Smart Simulations
Using NVIDIA Modulus, a framework for building AI models that understand the laws of physics, Wistron created digital twins that let them accurately predict the airflow and temperature in test facilities that must remain between 27 and 32 degrees C. A simulation that would've taken nearly 15 hours with traditional methods on a CPU took just 3.3 seconds on an NVIDIA GPU running inference with an AI model developed using Modulus, a whopping 15,000x speedup. The results were fed into tools and applications built by Wistron developers with NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for creating 3D workflows and applications based on OpenUSD.

TSMC is experiencing unprecedented demand from AI chip customers—unnamed parties have (fancifully) requested the construction of entirely new fabrication facilities. Taiwan's leading semiconductor contract manufacturer seems to concentrating on "sensible" expansions, mainly in the area of CoWoS packaging output—according to an Economic Daily report, company leadership and local government were negotiating over the construction of four new advanced packaging plants. Insiders propose that plans have been revised—an investment in excess of 500 billion yuan ($16 billion) will enable the founding of six new CoWoS-focused facilities. TSMC is expected to make an official announcement next month—industry moles reckon that construction work will start in April. Two (of the six total) advanced packaging plants could become fully operational before the conclusion of 2024.

Lately, TSMC has initiated an ambitious recruitment drive—targeting around 6000 new workers. A touring entity is tasked with the attraction of "talents with high enthusiasm for semiconductors." The majority of new recruits are likely heading to new or expanded Taiwan-based facilities. The Economic Daily report proposes that Chiayi City's technological hub will play host to TSMC's new CoWoS packaging plants. A DigiTimes Asia news piece (from January) posited that TSMC leadership anticipates CoWoS output reaching 44,000 units by the end of 2024. This predicted tally could grow, thanks to the (rumored) activation of additional factories. CoWoS packaging is considered to be a vital aspect of AI accelerators—insiders believe that TSMC's latest investment will boost production of NVIDIA H100 GPUs. The combined output of six new CoWoS plants will assist greatly in the creation of next-gen B100 chips.

Taiwan's Commercial Times has published coverage of a newly launched TSMC recruitment drive—proceedings kicked off last weekend with company representatives heading to the National Taiwan University campus. On the second of March, TSMC set up an outdoor booth on the grounds of Taipei's public research university—where the national comprehensive institute organized a Talent Recruitment Enterprise Expo. Unsurprisingly, TSMC recruiters are seeking potential "talents with high enthusiasm for semiconductors." Ctee's reporter found out that Taiwan's premier foundry is expecting to: "recruit approximately 6,000 new colleagues in Taiwan in 2024, including engineers and technicians." TSMC is reportedly responding to business growth and technology development demands—so much so, that its native manufacturing plants require a fresh influx of workers.

According to Ctee's report, TSMC's March recruitment tour is due to snake through Taiwan and then head over to mainland China: "Tsinghua University, National Cheng Kung University, National Yang-Ming Jiaotong University, Central China University, Zhongxing University, Zhongshan, National Chung Cheng University, Beijing University of Science and Technology, etc., totaling 19 physical activities and four online talent recruitment briefings." A parallel "2024 DNA Summer Internship Program" has also been rolled out: "inviting interested students to join and use internships to personally experience the environment and culture of TSMC." The company's growing global layout also provides opportunities for new employees to work overseas—the article highlights TSMC's newly opened semiconductor fabrication plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan as the preferred choice for "internal employees." The multinational firm's Arizona facilities did not get a shout out, despite recent good news. Reports from mid-2023 suggest that TSMC's core values are at odds with North American work culture.

Morris Chang, TSMC's founder and semiconductor industry icon, was present at the opening ceremony of his company's new semiconductor fabrication plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. According to a Nikkei Asia article, Chang predicted that the nation will experience "a chip renaissance" during his February 24 commencement speech. The Japanese government also announced that it will supply an additional ¥732 billion ($4.86 billion) in subsidies for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to expand semiconductor operations on the island of Kyūshū. Economy Minister Ken Saito stated: "TSMC is the most important partner for Japan in realizing digital transformation, and its Kumamoto factory is an important contributor for us to stably procure cutting-edge logic chips that is extremely essential for the future of industries in Japan."

Chang disclosed some interesting insights during last weekend's conference segment—according to Nikkei's report, he revealed that unnamed TSMC customers had made some outlandish requests: "They are not talking about tens of thousands of wafers. They are talking about fabs, (saying): 'We need so many fabs. We need three fabs, five fabs, 10 fabs.' Well, I can hardly believe that one." The Taiwanese chip manufacturing giant reportedly has the resources to create a new "Gigafab" within reasonable timeframes, but demands for (up to) ten new plants are extremely fanciful. Chang set expectations at a reasonable level—he predicted that demand for AI processors would lie somewhere in the middle ground: "between tens of thousands of wafers and tens of fabs." Past insider reports suggested that OpenAI has been discussing the formation of a proprietary fabrication network, with proposed investments of roughly $5 to $7 trillion. OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, reportedly engaged in talks with notable contract chip manufacturers—The Wall Street Journal posited that TSMC would be an ideal partner.