[News] Jensen Huang Rumored to Request CoWoS Dedicated Line, but TSMC Declines

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As TSMC stands at the core of the global semiconductor industry, NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang stirred up an AI frenzy when he visited Taiwan in June. According to a report from Commercial Times, during his visit, he met with TSMC founder Morris Chang and then-President C.C. Wei, and personally visited TSMC’s headquarters.

According to a report by Mirror Media on July 23rd, sources revealed that Huang requested TSMC to set up a dedicated CoWoS production line for NVIDIA at an external facility. However, this request was met with skepticism from TSMC’s senior management, resulting in a tense situation.

Notably, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei recently pointed out that despite strong AI demand, the company has yet to achieve a supply-demand balance and continues to increase production capacity. Many customers are eager for advanced process capacity, and TSMC is striving to balance pricing and capacity. Wei also revealed that the profit margins for advanced packaging CoWoS are being adjusted to align more closely with the company’s average profit levels.

C.C. Wei emphasized TSMC’s commitment to meeting customer demands with three “Whatever” statements. Regarding timelines, he revealed that supply will remain tight through 2025, with hopes for improvement by 2026.

Sources cited by the report further estimates that current utilization rates for 5nm and 3nm processes are at full capacity. To address demand, production for 3nm is set to increase gradually from 100,000 wafers per month to approximately 125,000 wafers per month by the second half of the year.

The 2nm process is expected to start mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a target monthly output of 30,000 wafers. With future expansion at the Kaohsiung plant, the combined monthly capacity of the Hsinchu Science Park and Kaohsiung facilities is projected to reach 120,000 to 130,000 wafers.

Despite escalating geopolitical risks, Wei stated that there will be no changes to TSMC’s expansion strategy, with projects in Arizona, Japan’s Kumamoto, and future European facilities proceeding as planned.

Currently, TSMC’s investment in its U.S. facilities has reached USD 65 billion. The Arizona site is expected to have three plants, with the first two set to start production in 2025 and 2028, focusing on 4/3nm and 3/2nm nodes, respectively.

TSMC’s advanced packaging plans in Taiwan include facilities in Hsinchu Science Park, Miaoli Zhunan, Taichung Central Taiwan Science Park, Tainan Southern Taiwan Science Park (taking over Longtan InFO), and Taoyuan Longtan (significantly expanding CoWoS). Construction is also scheduled to begin in 2024 at Miaoli Tongluo and Chiayi Science Park.

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(Photo credit: TSMC)