[News] TSMC Faces Order Cut Fears as AMD, Broadcom, and NVIDIA Reportedly Slash CoWoS-S Demand

Ahead of TSMC’s earnings call on January 16^th, market rumors have been circulating that the foundry giant’s largest clients are slashing their CoWoS-S orders. According to Commercial Times, AMD and Broadcom are reportedly releasing the CoWoS-S capacity they previously booked due to slowing demand, while NVIDIA tends to shift its CoWoS-S orders to the more advanced CoWoS-L technology.

CoWoS-S Orders Slashed?

Another Economic Daily report warns that NVIDIA might be cutting its CoWoS-S orders from TSMC and UMC by as much as 80%, which could lead to an estimated 1% to 2% revenue decline for TSMC. The order reduction, as per the report, could be attributed to the discontinuation of NVIDIA’s Hopper platform, limited demand for the new GB200A product, and the relatively lukewarm market pull for GB300A.

However, the Commercial Times indicates that the overall demand for TSMC’s CoWoS technology remains unchanged, and NVIDIA’s GB300A is expected to gradually ramping up in the second half of 2025.

Jensen Huang’s Taiwan Visit: CoWoS Takes the Spotlight

Notably, after wrapping up his schedule at CES 2025, NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang is heading to Asia. As per Commercial Times, in addition to attending NVIDIA’s year-end party in Taiwan, Huang will also meet key partners in the supply chain, including TSMC and SPIL, a subsidiary of ASE Group, to negotiate about CoWoS capacity.

According to TrendForce, looking ahead to 2025, NVIDIA plans to strategically promote the B300 and GB300 lines—which utilize CoWoS-L technology—thereby boosting the demand for advanced packaging solutions.

The B300 series is anticipated to launch between the second and third quarters of 2025, with the B200 and GB200 expected to begin shipping from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, as noted by TrendForce.

TSMC’s CoWoS Expansion Update at Innulox’s Fab

Unfazed by market rumors, TSMC is reportedly making strides in the expansion of CoWoS capacity. According to Commercial Times, after acquiring Innolux’s fab in Southern Taiwan, TSMC plans to prioritize CoWoS-L expansion to meet customer demand. Industry sources say the facility, initially expected to have CoWoS-S lines, will now focus on CoWoS-L.

It is worth noting that the yield rate of NVIDIA’s B200 chips reportedly falls short of TSMC’s internal standards. Sources cited by the report also suggest that as the CoWoS-L involves complex packaging of the top-layer chip, interposer, and HBM, TSMC aims to compensate for the shortfall by increasing capacity.

According to another report from Commercial Times, with the Tainan facility (AP8) it acquired earlier from Innolux starting small-scale production by the end of 2025, TSMC’s CoWoS capacity is expected to triple, rising to 90,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026.

Read more

• [News] TSMC Ramps up CoWoS Capacity across Taiwan, Projected to Nearly Triple by 2026
• [News] TSMC on Track to Qualify Ultra-Large CoWoS with 9x Reticle Sizes, 12 HBM4 Stacks by 2027

(Photo credit: TSMC)