[News] Three Major Giants Vying for TSMC’s 3-Nanometer Production Capacity

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Benefited from frequent orders from its top three clients, Apple, Intel, and AMD, strong momentum has reportedly been driven for TSMC’s 3-nanometer orders, as per a report from Economic Daily News. Anticipated to see sequential growth throughout the year, these orders are expected to remain robust until the end of the year, positioning TSMC as a leader in the semiconductor industry’s recovery.

TSMC has a longstanding policy of not commenting on customer order dynamics. However, it is cited in the report that in the fourth quarter of last year, 3-nanometer orders accounted for approximately 15% of its revenue. With the adoption of 3-nanometer production by major clients this year, revenue from 3-nanometer orders is expected to surpass 20%, becoming the second-largest revenue contributor, following only the 5-nanometer process.

Looking at the orders placed by the top three clients for the 3-nanometer process, Apple is set to introduce the A18 series processor in its iPhone 16 lineup this year. Additionally, the latest self-developed M4 chip for laptops will also be produced by TSMC using the 3-nanometer process, starting in the second quarter.

On the Intel side, the Lunar Lake central processor, graphics processor, and high-speed IO chip are all confirmed to begin mass production at TSMC in the second quarter. This marks Intel’s first instance of outsourcing its entire mainstream consumer platform chip series to TSMC, making it a significant new source of orders for TSMC’s 3-nanometer process this year.

AMD, on the other hand, is poised to unveil its new Zen 5 architecture platform under the code name “Nirvana” this year, expected to significantly enhance AI applications. Following its customary practice, AMD will utilize TSMC’s wafer foundry services, with production set to commence on the 3-nanometer process and an expected launch in the latter half of the year.

TSMC, reportedly, is expanding its production capacity for the 3nm family and advanced packaging this year to meet the large orders from major clients such as Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD in the coming years.

As per TrendForce’s data, the 3nm process alone contributed 6% to TSMC’s Q3 revenue, with advanced processes (≤7nm) accounting for nearly 60% of its total revenue.

Read more

• [News] Apple Reportedly Places Large Orders for TSMC’s 3nm While Simultaneously Securing Significant Advanced Packaging Capacity
• [News] TSMC Reportedly Attracts Influx of 3nm Customers, Predicts Production Capacity Utilization to Surge to 80% by Year-End

(Photo credit: TSMC)