Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC on Friday announced a nearly 60% jump in revenue in April compared to the same month a year earlier, an increase driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products powered by electronic chips .
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company counts Apple and Nvidia among its customers and controls more than half of the world’s semiconductor production. Its turnover amounted to “about 236.02 billion” Taiwan dollars (6.75 billion euros) “ie an increase of 59.6% compared to the month of April 2023”, according to a company press release.
In March, TSMC recorded an increase of 34.3% compared to the same month of the previous year.
The group, which has promised to diversify its product outside the island of Taiwan, increased in April 13% in its turnover for the first quarter of 2024 over one year, to 17.50 billion dinars. It expects an increase of 27.6% for the second quarter.
High-performance chips are in high demand, with companies equipping them with the hardware needed to develop AI following the launch of ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence tool from US startup OpenAI.
Last month, South Korean chip-making giant SK Hynix announced that it would collaborate with TSMC to develop a new generation of high-speed memory (HBM) for use in AI.
SK Hynix dominates the market for HBM chips, components essential to AI functionality, and is one of the main suppliers to Nvidia, an American behemoth in the processor sector.
TSMC dominates the chip-making sector and most of its factories are based in Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by neighboring China that has exerted political and military pressure on face of Taipei in recent years.
The semiconductor supply chain is highly vulnerable to crises, and governments have pressured TSMC to move more production lines off the island.
Last month, during a major earthquake in Taiwan, TSMC sent several emails to reassure its customers that there would be little impact on production, according to the company .
TSMC also announced in early April that it planned to build a third semiconductor factory in Arizona, while two units are under construction, bringing its total investment in the United States to $65 billion.
TSMC’s plans in Arizona hit roadblocks last year, due to problems hiring workers with specific skills.
These TSMC factories in Arizona will allow us to see the most advanced chips made on American soil for the first time, said US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in early April.
In February, TSMC established a new factory on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan, which will compete with the United States and Europe to attract semiconductor manufacturers with large subsidies.
Japan also plans to build another factory in Kumamoto to make more sophisticated chips.
2024-05-10 08:46:02
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