TSMC: contract chip manufacturing

Names and abbreviations on this page

TSMC — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited. A company that manufactures semiconductor chips for customers.

AMD — Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. A semiconductor company developing processors and other computing technology.

CHIPS — Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors. The name used for United States legislation and programs supporting semiconductor manufacturing and research.

ASML — ASML (company name). A Dutch company supplying machines used to manufacture microchips.

SEC — United States Securities and Exchange Commission. United States securities-market regulator.

Scale or institutional role

Consolidated revenue: NT$3,809.05 billion

Period: Year ended December 31, 2025

Reported consolidated revenue in New Taiwan dollars; not market value or investment commitments. [1]

Scale and supply role

TSMC reported 2025 consolidated revenue of NT$3,809.05 billion and shipments of 15.0 million 12-inch-equivalent wafers. It manufactured products for 534 customers. Its manufacturing role connects other companies’ chip designs to physical production; shipment volume and revenue measure different aspects of that role. [1]

Ownership and control

TSMC is publicly listed. Its 2025 Form 20-F reports Taiwan’s National Development Fund holding 6.38% as of February 28, 2026 and having a board representative. This is a documented government shareholding and governance connection, rather than evidence that the fund owns a majority or dictates every commercial decision. [2]

Cross-border investment and customers

In March 2025, TSMC announced an intention to raise planned United States investment to US$165 billion, including added fabs, packaging facilities and research. The announcement names Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom and Qualcomm among customers it supports. Planned investment is not the same as money already spent or a completed factory. [3]

Policy relationship

In November 2024, the U.S. Commerce Department awarded the Arizona subsidiary up to US$6.6 billion in CHIPS direct funding, disbursed against milestones. That dated award supports an identifiable industrial-policy relationship; it should not be silently replaced by a claim that every planned investment dollar is a public subsidy. [4]

Scrutiny and interpretation

Useful scrutiny questions include construction delivery, subsidy milestones and the resilience gained from additional production locations. Ask what has opened and what remains planned. Commercial dependence and public support warrant examination, but shared customers do not establish a common political agenda.

Related learning

Apple: devices, global manufacturing and platform rules

ASML: semiconductor equipment and export licensing

Samsung Electronics: components and finished devices

How size and influence are compared

Follow the money and the type of relationship

External Resources