台积电高管在Semicon Taiwan透露季度设备采购需求较去年底预估增长约1.9倍

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s need for chipmaking tools has nearly doubled since the end of last year as it expands production to meet AI demand, a senior executive said.

The world’s biggest contract chipmaker has increased its own estimate of quarterly equipment purchases to about 1.9 times the amount it projected in December, Deputy Co-Chief Operating Officer Cliff Hou said in a fireside chat at Semicon Taiwan, an annual conference on the future of the industry. It marked the latest signal of overwhelming demand driven by artificial intelligence developers and the global build-out of data centers.

Hsinchu-based TSMC is also grappling with a lack of experienced construction workers in Taiwan, at a time when it’s trying to build and furnish about 20 factories both at home and overseas, an expansion intensity unprecedented in the company’s history. TSMC’s typical pace in the past would see it working on four or five new buildings simultaneously.

“Right now you’re almost 4x or 5x, trying to catch up, but still you cannot meet demand,” Hou said.

TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei has said the company will work hard well into next year to close the gap between supply and demand, though the challenge is significant as customers like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are constantly increasing orders. Nvidia, which uses only TSMC to fabricate its most advanced AI accelerator products, last month estimated its sales — already close to $100 billion per quarter — would grow by 70% next year.

The imbalance in chip demand and supplies was reiterated at the session by chipmaker MediaTek Inc.’s CEO Rick Tsai, who opened his remarks with a jovial ask for Hou and TSMC: “Cliff, can I get more capacity?”