Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a cornerstone of the global chip supply, accounting for roughly 70% of the world's foundry production (and more if you're talking only about the most cutting-edge semiconductors).

Considering the Taiwanese firm supplies tech giants like NVIDIA, Qualcomm, AMD, and Apple with chips, if there's one company that I don't want to see discuss price increases, it's TSMC.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. In a recent interview with the BBC, TSMC's Chief Financial Officer, Wendell Huang, cited inflation as a reason why the chip maker could be forced to hike prices.

The good news, at least for now, is that TSMC won't be hiking prices (if at all) in the same way that memory manufacturers have been doing for the last couple of years as AI's appetite grows.

Huang explicitly said that TSMC would not suddenly raise prices "fourfold, fivefold" for customers despite inflation causing the company's costs to increase.

TSMC is a publicly traded company, and so it rides the markets with plenty of pressure from shareholders. Indeed, earlier in the day, before the BBC interviewed Huang, TSMC's Chairman and CEO, CC Wei, reportedly told investors that he'd like to mirror his firm's competition and raise prices accordingly.

This is in line with a May report from Commercial Times suggesting that TSMC is planning a 2026 price hike of up to 15% on its 3nm products, some of the most advanced in the world.

TSMC is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure to deliver a lot of chips to some of the most valuable companies in the world, and its impressive stock price reflects that demand.

TSMC has a duty to maximize returns for its investors, and considering it's essentially working at maximum capacity in all of its operational foundries, it only makes sense, from a fiduciary standpoint, to raise prices.

The question of whether or not the AI revolution is a bubble doesn't seem to be playing a role in TSMC's operation. Huang told the BBC that "these [AI] companies are financially very strong with a lot of financial resources, so we believe that they're able to continue to invest."

Windows Central's take on rising TSMC prices

Although TSMC has not committed entirely to a price hike, it seems inevitable that the firm will eventually have to start charging more for its services. What would this move look like across the rest of the tech industry?

Considering TSMC's dominance, particularly in the world's most advanced chips, companies like NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm would immediately be forced to either absorb the raised costs or pass those costs on to customers. I don't want to make any assumptions, but you can probably guess which avenue is more attractive to shareholders.

And I don't think these effects would be felt only in AI markets. Everything from phones to PCs to automobiles with a chip inside would go up in price. Do note that NVIDIA's new RTX Spark platform, announced at Computex 2026 and coming to the Surface Laptop Ultra, is manufactured on TSMC's 3nm process node

Considering how much almost everything already costs in the tech world, this news doesn't give me hope for the future of affordability. It's but another step toward the end of personal PCs, a once-upon-a-time "conspiracy theory" that's not so much of a conspiracy anymore.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Things are moving fast for NVIDIA as it attempts to remain the world's biggest supplier of AI chips and the world's most valuable company.

Just a couple of weeks ago, on July 14, it was announced that NVIDIA would once again resume sales of its H20 AI GPUs to China, marking the end of a White House ban in place since April 2025.

Now, as reported by Reuters, NVIDIA is scrambling to meet the unforeseen demand of the H20 GPUs in China following the recent ban reversal.

Despite sitting on a stockpile of somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000 H20 chips — at least according to sources who declined to be named due to unauthorized contact with the press — NVIDIA has ordered 300,000 more chips from TSMC.

Considering NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang remarked earlier this month that H20 production wouldn't resume unless enough orders for the chip piled up, I think we have a clear answer as to the level of demand NVIDIA is dealing with.

As noted in the Reuters article, it's estimated that NVIDIA sold approximately 1 million H20 chips in 2024. It could take up to nine months to get the supply chain rolling again, according to Huang, so I wouldn't be surprised if TSMC's production sheet continues to climb as more orders flood in at NVIDIA.

NVIDIA still faces opposition from the US Department of Commerce. Export licenses are required for the H20 chips, and according to Reuters, those licenses have not yet been approved. However, it seems like NVIDIA has received a promise that they'll arrive soon.

Why are NVIDIA's H20 AI chips so popular in China?

NVIDIA's H20 AI chips are made specially for the Chinese market as an answer to the US government's ban on selling the premier Hopper H100, H200, and Blackwell B200 GPUs.

The H20 doesn't have the same raw performance as NVIDIA's mainstream AI GPUs, but it is nevertheless a preferred chip for AI inference tasks when other options aren't available.

Major Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, rely on the H20 chip to power their own AI models as well as DeepSeek's "cost-effective" AI model. It's reported that DeepSeek's R1 model used 50,000 NVIDIA Hopper GPUs to train, coming at a cost of $1.6 billion in hardware alone.

The April 2024 White House ban on selling H20 GPUs to China spurred the Chinese giant Huawei to expedite production of its new AI chip, the 910C, to meet the newfound demand for NVIDIA alternatives.

Beyond that, it's also reported (via Tom's Hardware) that NVIDIA GPUs such as the A100 and H100 are being sold secondhand on a thriving Chinese repair market.

And that's exactly what NVIDIA doesn't want to happen. NVIDIA currently controls about 90% of the AI chip market, which undoubtedly was the major driving force behind it becoming the first $4 trillion company.

What caused the Chinese H20 ban reversal?

The H20 ban reversal is reportedly partly due to negotiations with China regarding rare earth magnets. US industries need the magnets, while China needs H20 GPUs.

But NVIDIA's argument of letting it sell AI chips to foreign countries, rather than letting other AI firms gain power, no doubt played a big part in freeing H20 sales. NVIDIA's Huang is quoted as saying in the blog post announcing the resumption of H20 chips in China:

"We believe that every civil model should run best on the U.S. technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America."

Huang also noted that letting non-American AI chips become the global standard would be a "grave mistake" and would allow companies like Huawei to step in and gain control.

The ban reversal has received pushback from 20 national security experts, who posit in a penned letter that giving China the H20 chips will help it gain ground in the AI race:

"We write to express our deep concern over the recent decision to resume exports of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China. As policymakers and professionals with a background in national security policy, we believe this move represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States’ economic and military edge in artificial intelligence (AI)—an area increasingly seen as decisive in 21st-century global leadership."

Of course, there's also a lot at stake for NVIDIA. The April 2025 ban resulted in a $5.5 billion write-off and billions more in lost sales. NVIDIA's main goal is to make money, and continuing to miss out on the massive Chinese market has got to be a massive frustration.

Considering the ban reversal, the Trump administration evidently believes that Huang's approach is the right one — allow NVIDIA to sell nerfed AI chips to China, keep Huawei and other competitors from gaining market share, and keep the stock market riding high on the back of NVIDIA's meteoric rise.

What you need to know

• Intel is a company in turmoil, having laid off thousands of staff this year in attempts to balance its books.
• With billions in losses over the past few years, many have questioned CEO Pat Gelsinger's ability to deliver.
• A new report suggests that ill-advised comments on the sovereignty of Taiwan may have cost the U.S. chip designer millions more following the termination of a lucrative discount on chip wafers.

Intel hasn't had a fun few years.

Earlier in 2024, Intel reported yet another quarter of hard losses following the ongoing failure to set up its own chip fabrication foundries. Intel Foundry, as it is known, is now responsible for billions in losses for the firm. As a result, Intel terminated a record 15,000+ positions from its company a few months ago as it seeks to right its slowly, painfully sinking ship.

Over the past five years, Intel has seen a 60% slide in its market capitalization, while competing chip makers and manufacturers saw runaway success in the AI era. NVIDIA is battling Apple for the world's most valuable company crown, and more and more computer manufacturers are exploring Arm architecture as Intel's designs seem to have hit a power-efficiency roadblock. Microsoft's Copilot+ PC range in partnership with its OEMs relies entirely on Arm-based Qualcomm chips, for example, and Apple has ditched Intel chips for its Macs in favor of home-grown, Arm-based solutions in recent years, too.

Now, a damning new report from Reuters (via TweakTown) suggests that Pat Gelsinger's insensitive comments about the status of Taiwan in relation to China may have cost the firm millions upon millions in discounts with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

In an interview with Fortune magazine, Gelsinger said this of using TSMC to fabricate Intel chip wafers: "You don't want all of your eggs in the basket of a Taiwan fab. [...] Taiwan is not a stable place." As you might expect, the comments went down like a lead balloon in the sovereign nation, which the ruling party of neighboring China claims as its own.

Up until that point, Reuters sources say that Intel had enjoyed a lucrative 40% discount on 3-nanometer wafers. After the comments, TSMC terminated the agreement. TSMC founder Morris Chang had previously called Gelsinger a "very discourteous fellow," noting that "TSMC deals with Intel the way Intel deals with TSMC." Officially, TSMC and Intel are close partners, given that TSMC is responsible for some 60%+ of the chip manufacturing industry. But relationships may have strained as Intel has attempted (and thus far failed) to gain a foothold with its own fabs.

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No light on the horizon for Intel

Intel has signaled to investors that it may take years for its Foundry project to materialize profits; technical problems and reliability concerns prevent the division from hitting profitability. The slump in what was one of America's most cherished companies has sparked rumors that Apple may be looking to acquire Intel outright.

Gelsinger relies on America's CHIPS act, which provides subsidies and incentives to set up fabs on U.S. soil. In essence, Gelsinger's comments may have been insensitive, but they weren't exactly wrong given the state of the world right now. China has made no secret of its desire to conquer Taiwan, and war across the Taiwan Strait would have spectacularly dire consequences for the region, while also devastating the global economy. There are trillions of dollars invested in companies that rely, at times, almost entirely on TSMC for their products and services. A disruption in the semiconductor supply chain would upend the entire global economy, given that virtually everything has some form of compute these days.

While Intel has floundered to get the basics down, companies like NVIDIA have stormed ahead and capitalized massively on the AI boom, with its GPUs powering everything from ChatGPT to Microsoft Copilot, to xAI and Meta's Llama. Intel has been practically left behind in this regard, assaulted by NVIDIA at one end and Arm-based chips on the other. It remains to be seen if Intel can cut through the middle and find its footing. It further remains to be seen if CEO Pat Gelsinger is actually the right man for the job.

What you need to know

• In November 2023, the US government imposed exportation rules preventing NVIDIA and AMD from supplying China with AI chips due to security concerns. 
• Top semiconductor brands ASML and TSMC have reportedly disclosed that they can hinder China's chipmaking machines remotely should they manage to invade Taiwan.
• The Biden-Harris administration is mounting pressure on the Netherlands to implement measures that will prevent ASML from exporting AI chips to China.

Generative AI is quickly taking over the tech world, owing to its fast adoption across organizations and companies. The rapid growth of the technology is raising security concerns among major stakeholders, including the Biden-Harris administration. This has prompted exportation rules that prevent chip brands like NVIDIA and AMD from shipping AI chips to China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

In the past, the US government explained that stringent exportation rules weren't in force to weaken China's economy. It's more of a safeguard and preventative measure that mitigates the misuse of sophisticated AI technology that could potentially be used to foster military advances.

But there's a better and more effective way to approach this issue. According to a Bloomberg report, ASML and TSMC have a super secret way to remotely access and disable high-tech chipmaking machines. This would especially come in handy in the event that China decides to pursue Taiwan.

Two sources with knowledge about the matter disclosed to Bloomberg that the US government has privately expressed security concerns to its Dutch and Taiwan partners.

For context, Taiwan is the world's hub for semiconductor chips, which are used in a wide array of devices, including smartphones and laptops. China wants to invade Taiwan, claiming the island is part of its territory and wants to reclaim it. If this were to happen, the imminent damage that would occur is unimaginable.

RELATED: Chinese GPU recycling factories have a workaround for the US government's newly imposed export rules

Luckily, the new revelation that both ASML and TSMC's tech has a "kill switch" will make it easier to control and prevent China from manufacturing sophisticated chips that can be used for military advances. 

Elsewhere, the US government is mounting pressure on the Netherlands to implement measures that will prevent ASML from exporting AI chips to China. Likewise, the chip brand has indicated that it'll no longer service equipment that it was previously shipping to China.

What you need to know

• In an interview with Tom's Hardware, Intel Foundry Services Head Stu Pann discussed Intel's plan to fight for market share in the foundry market. 
• Intel Foundry Services is working with Faraday to develop a 64-core 18A processor using the Arm Neoverse design. 
• Stu Pann says they want to offer foundry services in more geographical locations than competitors, especially within the U.S.

Arm is all the rage right now; with our recent report that upcoming Surface devices will have an Arm variant, as well as the Xbox leak from last year that the next generation of Xbox might be Arm-based, it seems the entire world is shifting towards Arm. 

With Intel being open to building Arm chips, Microsoft looking to integrate Arm with its in-house hardware projects, and the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite possibly making waves in the PC SOC market, Arm is set for a huge awakening in 2024.  

Intel's vision for foundry 

During the IFS direct connect, Intel described how they want to be vital to the foundry market. They want to be the #2 Foundry by 2030 and become a resilient Foundry that can withstand supply chain disruptions due to geopolitical issues and wars going on around the world. Intel even stated that semiconductors are the new oil of geopolitics and hinted that the world will fight over silicon in the future as they have fought over oil for the last 50 years.  

Intel wants to rebalance the semiconductors from 80% in Asia closer to 50% in the Americas/Europe and 50% in Asia. 

This goes hand in hand with what was mentioned by Stu Pann in the interview with Tom's Hardware. 

"A lot of customers want at least a ‘Made in the Americas’ kind of setup. And if we do a wafer fab in the US for an 18A logic device, for example, we can package something in the Americas in its entirety without having to have it cross the Pacific Ocean."

Intel is looking for effective ways to bring most of its manufacturing closer to the Americas in an effort to have a dependable supply chain. 

Intel and Arm, the future seems symbiotic. 

During the IFS direct connect, Arm CEO Rene Hass discussed that it feels like they are strange bedfellows, and it feels odd to be working together with Intel. However, the world seems to be getting past the idea of exclusive hardware and instead wants to build the most efficient chips for large companies like Microsoft or Faraday to power AI data centers. 

The Arm Neoverse V3 is 50% faster than the Neoverse V2, which is used in data centers. The N3 Neoverse is 20% faster, but most importantly, they are much more efficient. 

Rene Hass said, "When you think about these AI data centers which are pulling hundreds of megawatts and more, efficiency matters."

With Intel's impressive 18A process node, it seems that both Intel and Arm want to ensure that the two companies benefit from the advancements the other side is making.

Where does Intel go from here?

Intel is making the smart play and has the backing of the United States government as well. They were able to get the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to attend the Intel IFS Direct Connect 2024 and discuss the United States's interest in having more chip manufacturing in the country as part of the CHIPS Act. This is a huge indicator of the importance of Intel's long-term strategy in offering a reliable supply chain to the western world as geopolitics continue to spiral toward negative realities. 

By swallowing their pride, both Intel and Arm CEOs stand in a much better situation now than they did when they were stark enemies. While they are still competing in the same space, they are now working together to try to produce the most powerful, efficient chips to meet the demand for AI, as chip production lags far behind the needs seen in the world today. 

Intel recently announced its newest customer Microsoft, who will be using Intel to make homegrown chips for its needs and these are the types of partnerships that will help Intel win back some market share. 

What you need to know

• TSMC's 3nm node has reportedly exceeded expectations.
• Intel plans to use TSMC's 3nm node process for the GPU tile in its Arrow Lake processors.
• Intel's Arrow Lake processors have been delayed and will start shipping in Q4 2024, with greater availability expected in the second half of 2025, according to DigiTimes.

Intel's 15th Gen Arrow Lake processors may ship later than initially anticipated, according to a report by DigiTimes. The outlet explained that the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 3nm node performance is higher than expected, but that Intel has delayed its plans to order the nodes until Q4 2024. That delay would push back availability until the second half of 2025, as it takes time for manufacturing to reach a level suitable for mass shipping.

Intel's Arrow Lake processors will likely feature Intel's 20A node on the CPU side or things and TSMC's 3nm node for the GPU tile. Arrow Lake CPUs will also use Lion Cove and Skymont cores rather than the Redwood Cove and Crestmont cores that will ship in the 14th Gen Meteor Lake lineup. Core counts are also expected to increase to 8 Performance "P-Cores" and 32 Efficiency E-Cores.

Wccftech broke down all of Intel's upcoming CPUs in technical detail.

TSMC's 3nm process exceeding expectations is promising for both Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Intel. TSMC will likely see business from Apple, Intel, and other companies that want to use high-performance processor technology. Intel will benefit from TSMC's improvements and justify its expected decision to use an external foundry for its 15th Gen Arrow Lake processors.

Wccftech notes that the higher cost of TSMC's 3nm processor could trickle down to consumers, who would have to pay more for PCs powered by the tech. A price increase occurring in conjunction with dropping PC demand could result in lower sales, but we'll have to see how PCs trend over the next couple of years to be sure.

What you need to know

• The United States Senate just passed the Chips and Science act, which would provide around $52 billion to semiconductor manufacturers in the country.
• The bill now has to go through the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Joe Biden, both of which are expected to happen.
• The goal of the funding is to promote the domestic making of chips to compete with manufacturing in Asia.

The United States Senate passed the Chips and Science act on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The legislation will provide $52 billion in subsidies and tax credits for semiconductor production in the U.S. if it is signed into law. The bill passed through the Senate with a bipartisan 64 to 33 vote. It must now go through the House of Representatives, which is expected to vote in favor of the legislation. President Joe Biden would then sign the law into effect (via Reuters).

The Chips and Science act has been in the works since last year. An earlier version of the bill passed the Senate in June 2021 but did not make it through the House. It has since been trimmed down and separated from other spending proposals. Senators on both sides of the aisle pushed the legislation forward, as did President Biden.

The $52 billion in funding includes $39 billion to subsidize companies building facilities for manufacturing semiconductors and over $10 billion for semiconductor research.

In addition to the $52 billion in subsidies and tax credits for developing and making chips, the bill will allocate more than $170 billion to scientific research.

Semiconductors are used in a wide range of devices, including computers, servers, home electronics, and vehicles. President Biden and other supporters of the bill framed the Chips and Science act as a national security issue, highlighting that military equipment requires semiconductors.

The bill will also help the United States compete with other countries when it comes to making chips.

"As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers," said President Biden after the Senate passed the bill.

Intel and other chipmakers have come out in support of the bill. "American businesses in every sector across the economy are facing a semiconductor shortage," argued Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in a March hearing in Washington DC. "And the only way to alleviate the current supply-demand imbalance long term is to increase manufacturing capacity by funding and implementing the CHIPS Act.”

Intel announced plans for the "largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet" earlier this year.

While the Chips and Science act received bipartisan support, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders voted against it. He claimed that the legislation was a "blank check" to chip manufacturers.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday, July 28, 2022. President Joe Biden would then sign it into effect next week if it passes. 

What you need to know

• TSMC's founder and former CEO Morris Chang believes that efforts to manufacture semiconductors in the United States will be a "very expensive exercise in futility."
• Chang pointed to the difference in labor and manufacturing costs in the United States compared to Taiwan.
• The U.S. government and several large tech companies plan to invest billions of dollars to chipmaking within the United States.

TSMC's founder and former CEO Morris Chang believes that semiconductor production in the United States will struggle to compete with manufacturing in Taiwan. Chang called recent efforts to increase semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. a "very expensive exercise in futility." He argued that making chips in the U.S. will cost more, causing the U.S. industry to fail to compete with TSMC and other companies around the world.

Chang shared his thoughts at the Brookings Institution think tank (PDF) (via The Register).

The TSMC founder pointed to high manufacturing costs as the main reason U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing will fail to compete. He highlighted the struggles of TSMC's factory in Oregon. "The same product, the Oregon cost, is about 50 percent more than the Taiwan cost," explained Chang.

It's worth noting that TSMC has plans for a massive chipmaking factory in Arizona. Chang notes that the decision to make that plant was made by the current chairman of TSMC, since Chang was almost retired at the time.

TSMC isn't the only organization to invest heavily in U.S.-based manufacturing. Intel announced plans for what it claims will be the "largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet" in January 2022. The company is also constructing chip factories in Arizona and investing heavily in domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.

The U.S government is considering a bill that will incentive semiconductor production within the United States that will provide over $50 billion in funding. These plans are part of an ongoing effort to have the U.S. compete with China in the semiconductor industry. The United States also has to compete with tech giants in Taiwan, such as TSMC.

These efforts will not succeed, according to Chang. "The recent effort of the U.S. to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, right now you're talking about spending only tens of billions of dollars of money of subsidy," said Chang. "Well, it's not going to be enough. I think it will be a very expensive exercise in futility. The U.S. will increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors somewhat. But all of that will be very high-cost increase, high unit cost. It will be noncompetitive in the world markets where you compete with factories like TSMC."

What you need to know

• The worldwide semiconductor shortage has been hurting tech companies for roughly two years.
• The big semiconductor industry players, including TSMC and Samsung, have been racing to expand operations in order to keep up with astronomical demand.
• A new report indicates said expansion plans are not going as smoothly as intended.

Supply chains are complex things, with every company seemingly being dependent on other companies in an unending chain of reliance, all to make a functional overall operation that gets consumers the tech they crave. For a while, much of the blame for shortages was being pinned on chipmakers such as Texas Instruments (yes, the calculator maker), but now the blame game goes deeper. Detailed in a new report, it's allegedly the companies making the chipmaking machinery components for the chipmakers that are holding up operations.

As reported by Nikkei Asia, "leading chip tool makers — including Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research and ASML — are warning clients they will have to wait up to 18 months for some crucial machines." It's said that a wide variety of parts essential to the making of chipmaking machines are in short supply, including valves, lenses, and electronic modules. It's turtles all the way down.

Delivery times for said components have gotten worse and worse since 2020. In 2019, the estimated delivery dates for such supplies were three to four months. That ballooned to 10 to 12 months in 2021, and now, up to 18 months as all the big players gobble up parts to expand their operations. These delays are being labeled the "worst in decades." Certain testing equipment parts are seeing up to 30-month delivery time outlooks.

Industry experts have been saying for a while that consumer tech, including the best graphics cards, should see supply headaches simmer down toward the end of 2022. But if the aforementioned report's delays are indicative of anything, it's that nothing is certain in the current semiconductor landscape.

What you need to know

• TSMC had a successful 2020 and 2021 and looks to extend that good fortune into 2022 with the help of a $44 billion spending budget.
• According to a new report, part of that budget is going to go toward employing over 8,000 new staff members.
• MediaTek is set to hire over 2,000 staff in 2022.

TSMC has been making a lot of money the past few quarters, smashing records with every new report it issues. That's why it's little surprise the company has set its estimated maximum spending budget at $44 billion for 2022. But where does all that money actually go?

According to a new report from Nikkei Asia, some of it'll be heading toward the recruitment of over 8,000 employees, putting the company's 2022 hiring rate on par with 2021's.

MediaTek, meanwhile, plans on bringing more than 2,000 new employees aboard. It will be hiring across Taiwan and India.

No matter how many new hires they enlist, both companies have their work cut out for them this year thanks to the ongoing global chip shortage. Though experts predict many tech sectors will recover by the end of 2022 or, for those that are worse off, 2023, the effects may haunt consumers for some time. When it comes to something like the best graphics cards, NVIDIA estimates a lot of current issues will be alleviated by the second half of 2022. But the automotive industry faces a rougher path to recovery, compounded by domino-effect pipeline issues with entities such as the steel industry.

Regardless of what consumers face in the coming months and years, semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC remain in a good position to keep supplying and profiting from larger-than-ever global chip demand.

What you need to know

• TSMC has had an exceedingly fruitful past six fiscal quarters, including the most recent, which netted it $15.8 billion in revenue.
• The company estimates a 2022 budget of between $40 and $44 billion (USD).
• Demand for semiconductors remains high as ever.

Though companies such as NVIDIA see an end to the worst aspects of the global semiconductor shortage hitting sometime in late 2022, the problem as a whole isn't going anywhere just yet. That means those who've been profiting most from massive spikes in semiconductor demand will keep doing so for the foreseeable future, including TSMC.

TSMC, in its quarter that ended December 31, 2021, brought in $15.8 billion USD in revenue. That's no small figure, nor is the number the company is presenting as its anticipated 2022 budget, which is expected to be somewhere between $40 and $44 billion.

In other words, it's business as usual ("usual" being relative to the pandemic era): Spend big, make bigger profits. Because, as is well known in business circles, there's always more money to be made and, by extension, averted from competitors' war chests. That's why Intel took a veiled jab at TSMC recently, calling Taiwan unstable. The comment came at least in part to illustrate the supposed risks of the U.S. government's semiconductor funding spreading itself to overseas companies.

Of course, there's a chance that same semiconductor funding won't go to Intel anyway after the company angered a U.S. senator with its controversial apology to China.

Regardless of what TSMC's competition does, then, with or without external aid, the semiconductor manufacturing company will keep powering forward in as strong of a position as it's ever been in. It's making record sums of money and dwarfing the competition in terms of market share, two trends that don't show signs of stopping.

What you need to know

• The global chip shortage has not stopped, nor is it expected to stop anytime before the second half of 2022.
• As a result, TSMC's customers remain demanding as ever, eager for more chips.
• This incessant demand means that TSMC has enjoyed six consecutive quarters of record-shattering sales.

Though Intel has cast doubt over the wisdom of relying on Taiwan too much, the fact remains TSMC remains the pack leader when it comes to semiconductor operations. Case in point: The company just enjoyed its sixth consecutive quarter of record-setting sales. The quarter that wrapped in December saw revenue spike by 21%, resulting in a grand total of approximately $15.8 billion.

As of December 2021, wait times for chip deliveries hit 25.8 weeks, marking a 6-day hike from the previous figure of November (via Bloomberg).

It's no secret TSMC has been a big player amid the ongoing global chip shortage, one big enough to get roped into White House meetings regarding semiconductor solutions and even butt heads with Washington.

Of course, TSMC isn't the only company out there working to mitigate the effects of the chip shortage. Intel has been trying to up its capabilities over the course of 2020 and 2021, aiming to better serve its domestic and foreign customers.

These two companies, in addition to many others, are helping pave the way for current estimates that the chip shortage will be over by the end of 2022 or 2023, depending on what sector you're looking at. Consumer technology is in a better position than the auto industry, for example, since companies in the former space kept up relations with chipmakers throughout the pandemic. In other words, if you're interested in the best graphics cards, you likely won't have to wait as long to score them as you will a new car.

What you need to know

• At the Fortune Brainstorm Tech summit in California, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger reiterated his long-held stance against chipmaking dependency on Asia, asking whether Taiwan was stable what with the ever-looming specter of China hanging over it.
• TSMC chairman Mark Liu, in a rare public retort, cast doubt over the idea that many would agree with Intel's stance.

Intel's CEO has had a long history of railing against global dependency on Asia for chipmaking needs. However, his latest comments have attracted a direct response from TSMC, which took an opposing stance on the matter.

While speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech summit, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger backed up his stance that the U.S. government should subsidize domestic companies exclusively when it comes to how it spends the $52 billion it has reserved for chipmakers. He pointed to Taiwan as an example of why a foreign investment could be bad, given China's activity in the region. He called Taiwan "not a stable place."

As reported by the Tapei Times, when referencing China's activities regarding Taiwan, Gelsinger asked whether said operations "make you more comfortable or less if you're now dependent on Taiwan as the singular source of technology for the most critical aspect of our human existence and our national security and economy for the future?"

These comments managed to earn a response from TSMC chairman Mark Liu a few days later, a man who is not known for publicly addressing such remarks. He commented that "not too many people will believe what Intel says," according to Bloomberg.

"It will be very negative for the United States to subsidize only American companies," Liu stated. "Unlike Intel, TSMC is very positive about non-U.S. chipmakers expanding capacity in America. It is a great thing."

Both companies have big operations in the works, including TSMC's 3nm tech plans and reported manufacturing contract with NVIDIA for its RTX 40-series graphics cards.

The global chip shortage represents one of those rare instances where seemingly everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and has snowballed into a worldwide headache depriving people of new cars, PC parts, and just about everything in between. Entire industries have been pit against one another in fierce competition for chip supplies, technological warfare between the U.S. and China has exacerbated semiconductor tension, and the situation isn't mending itself fast enough to shield consumers from the fallout.

While some parties would go so far as to say there is something close to a singular cause to the chip shortage, others feel it's the culmination of a great many global factors conspiring to make life harder for everyone. One of the only things that is an absolute certainty and not subject to opinion or conjecture is that, by and large, it has become vastly more difficult to obtain one of the best graphics cards or any other kind of chip-based tech (of which most everything is).

When can consumers expect the pain to stop, and what unexpected circumstances should they be ready for between now and then? That's what we reached out to experts to learn about. Here's what they warned the chip shortage would have in store for everyone between now and its eventual end.

Global chip shortage origins and expectations

Yole Développement Economist Guillaume Assogba shared his predictions on what consumers can expect in the near future. He gave background on the chip shortage's patient zero as well as what early evidence pointed toward the snowball effect we're all now caught up in.

"Fundamentally, the shortage of chips that started in cars has spread to all industries using these components (consumer tech, gaming, payment cards, etc.)," he said, mentioning how this has led companies to reduce their production forecasts. "For example, Nintendo has announced a 20% reduction in production; there has been a relative scarcity of the latest consoles from Sony and Microsoft for a few months; even Apple seems to have to reduce its production of the iPhone 13 by several million units."

He then reiterated that these sorts of actions will mean supply shortages and spiked prices for consumers, which should come as no surprise to anyone who's had to explore the current retail landscape firsthand. But the shortage's impact extends far past what many are paying attention to. As an example, Assogba pointed to the steel industry, which has seen reductions in sales as fewer cars are produced. This means that even when chips stabilize, the scaled-down steel industry may cause further delays as it takes time to get back in the swing of pre-shortage production volumes.

It's not all doom and gloom on the forecast, though. Assogba and Yole predict that consumer tech will recover first, by the end of 2022, thanks to tech manufacturers having kept up relations with chipmakers throughout the pandemic. The auto sector, meanwhile, will likely have to hope for 2023, as it did not sufficiently maintain relations.

Global chip shortage expert consensus

Gaurav Gupta, Gartner Vice President for Semiconductors and Electronics, gave similar estimates. "I expect better recovery for display driver and touch sensor ICs," he said. "Enterprise networking chips recovery would also be towards end of 2022."

Much like Assogba, Gupta saw some facets of the shortage reaching into 2023. "Power management solution and analog devices will be the last to recover and in some cases shortages might extend to early 2023." For industries affected by the shortage, Gupta foresaw consumer-facing consequences including higher pricing, a widespread lack of concrete delivery times, and product shortages, delays, and de-speccing based on the limited availability of high-end products.

As to how the situation got to where it is today, Gartner attributes it to a variety of factors all compounding one another. The trade war between the U.S. and China, the pandemic's lockdown effect, and an emphasis on 5G, among other elements, are cited as contributing to the environment that landed the world's chip supply shortage in such bad shape.

Global chip shortage big-picture takeaways

Those looking for the "too long; didn't read" of the analysts' thoughts can walk away with this simple statement: Expect an easier time getting graphics cards by the end of 2022 and a rebound to normalcy (or close thereto) in the automotive market during 2023, assuming additional pipeline setbacks don't disrupt that particular space further.

Still, roadblocks of varying magnitudes could crop up. With new strains of coronavirus on the rise and global superpowers fighting for tech and trade superiority, there's no telling what curveballs could be headed the tech sector's way throughout 2022 and 2023. The only guarantee is that we'll all find out whether things are set to get better within the coming months.

What you need to know

• TSMC is running the pilot production phase of its 3nm process.
• The company reportedly expects to go big with volume production by late 2022, tentatively in the fourth quarter.
• This news comes as TSMC gears up to handle NVIDIA's RTX 40-series production, another item on its 2022 docket.

TSMC has been having a very busy year, especially where headlines are concerned. Between its differing views with the U.S. government and the eye-catching win of NVIDIA's contractual interests, it's had no shortage of high-profile news surrounding it. And it's once again making the front page now that its 3nm pilot production program is officially underway, signaling the company is upping its chip game once again.

Though the pilot production phase is going on right now, TSMC isn't expected to hit volume production with its 3nm process until the final quarter of 2022 (via DigiTimes). Coincidentally, that's right around the time NVIDIA's RTX 40-series GPUs should be going wide in the market, so long as circumstances permit and the great chip shortage doesn't continue to ravage the world's various tech industries.

For those not in the loop, all this chip production news comes at a time when most companies are dealing with shortage issues that are backing up supply chains by weeks and months. Evidence of this can be found in companies' earnings reports, such as Microsoft admitting Surface revenue took a hit due to such factors and Lenovo saying it wasn't able to ship as much product as it wanted.

Some tech is immune to the harshest effects of the shortage, such as GaN chargers. Navitas Semiconductor gave insight as to why that is and the difference between energy processing technology and data processing technology. But for most of the hardware PC enthusiasts care about, such as the best graphics cards, TSMC and co. will need to be at the top of their game and continue to innovate to fix the current global situation.

What you need to know

• Many consumers have had an extraordinarily hard time getting an NVIDIA RTX 30-series GPU at MSRP over the course of 2020 and 2021 due to the global chip shortage.
• According to a report, the chip shortage will not be stopping NVIDIA from forging ahead with its 2022 RTX 40-series release plans.
• Said report reiterates earlier claims that NVIDIA will be in a better position to actualize its plans as a result of its contracting TSMC as opposed to Samsung.

Though the global chip shortage persists, a new report indicates that won't be stopping NVIDIA from powering forward with its 2022 launch of the GeForce RTX 40-series graphics cards. Even with the best graphics cards nowhere to be found in 2021, it seems the company is confident its shift from Samsung to TSMC will solve a chunk of the problems when it comes to keeping up with demand.

A previous report indicated that a trifecta of circumstances would lead to consumer semiconductor concerns being eliminated in the latter half of 2022 (or, if not entirely eliminated, then greatly reduced). One of said circumstances was NVIDIA contracting TSMC for its 5nm capabilities, moving away from Samsung's less capable setup.

Now, DigiTimes' latest scoop claims that this change will indeed facilitate the anticipated 2022 launch of NVIDIA's next wave of GPUs (via WCCF Tech). They will be RTX 40-series cards based on Ada Lovelace architecture.

There's a lot of time between now and whatever period in mid-to-late 2022 NVIDIA aims to release the cards, so anything can happen. Should the global semiconductor crisis ⁠— which greatly affects data-processing technology ⁠— persist in the face of evolving coronavirus threats, these reported plans may very well see alterations.

What you need to know

• There has been a global semiconductor crisis ravaging technology supply chains for a large chunk of 2020 and 2021.
• The chip shortage has affected industries ranging from automobile makers to graphics card manufacturers.
• According to a new report, the worldwide crisis has an identifiable cause — a company famous for its calculators.

In the event you've attempted to buy a car, one of the best graphics cards, or just about any high-tech toy or smart appliance in between, you've likely noticed the scarcity of supply and high prices floating around. These circumstances didn't arise from thin air; they're the result of a global chip shortage that's slowing production pipelines and supply chains throughout the world across a bevy of industries. And now, a few Taiwan-based companies are calling out the entity they've identified as the root cause of it all.

As reported by DigiTimes, some Taiwan-based tech manufacturers — think smartphones, PCs, and related gadgetry — have singled out Texas Instruments as being at the epicenter of the chip shortage's widespread production pandemonium (via WinFuture). In case the name "Texas Instruments" sounds familiar to you, that's because you very well may have used one of its calculators in your lifetime. That's the company being accused of having a vice grip on global technology output.

This accusation is based on the fact that Texas Instruments manufactures analog chips that are essential for duties such as PC voltage regulation. Said chips are a fundamental part of much computing technology, and are in a more dire supply situation than the advanced, specialized chips the likes of TSMC and co. produce.

The aforementioned Taiwan-based sources say Texas Instruments' inability to ramp up production capacity is the fundamental problem underpinning everything else. The question now is whether this supposed culprit identification will have any impact on the U.S. government's shortage-combatting plans.

What you need to know

• TSMC and Sony entered a joint venture to create a $7 billion fab in Japan.
• The fab will focus on producing chips built with the 22 and 28nm processes.
• Chips aren't expected to be mass-produced at the fab until 2024.

Sony and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced that they will jointly build a $7 billion fab in Japan. Back in October 2021, TSMC announced plans to build the fab, but the move required board approval. That has since been acquired, and the plan is to have the new fab running by 2024.

The manufacturing plant will focus on making chips with older technologies, such as those built with the 22 and 28nm processes. Producing these types of chips will help the struggling automotive industry and other sectors that have been hit by the ongoing global chip shortage.

TSMC and Sony will operate the plant as a joint venture. Sony will have over a 20% equity stake as a result of investing $500 million. The remaining 80% of the costs will be covered by TSMC. As reported by ZDNet, the joint venture between Sony and TSMC will be known as Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM).

During a recent earnings call, the TSMC CEO, C. C. Wei, predicted that chip capacity would continue to be "tight" into 2022.

"While the global semiconductor shortage is expected to be prolonged, we expect partnership with TSMC to contribute to securing a stable supply of logic wafers, not only for us but also for the overall industry," said Sony Semiconductor Solutions CEO and president Terushi Shimizu.

In other chip-related news, TSMC and several other tech giants recently responded to a request from the U.S. government for information that will help end the ongoing chip shortage.

What you need to know

• The U.S. government asked several tech giants to share information regarding the global chip shortage in September 2021.
• The deadline to answer the questionnaire is today, November 8, 2021.
• Sharing information is technically voluntary, but the U.S. government implied consequences for companies that do not cooperate.

Several major chipmakers have shared data with the U.S. government to help combat the ongoing global chip shortage. In September, the U.S. government sent out a questionnaire to several companies in the semiconductor supply chain asking for information. It asked for details regarding key customers, production capacity, and inventories. The request was met by pushback from some tech giants, including TSMC, one of the world's largest chipmakers. The deadline to share information is today, November 8, 2021.

While the U.S. government technically requested that companies share the information voluntarily, it implied that there could be consequences for withholding information.

"What I told them is, 'I don't want to have to do anything compulsory but if they don't comply, then they'll leave me no choice,'" said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Bloomberg in October 2021.

TSMC shared information with the U.S. government. A TSMC spokesperson ensured that the company did not share customer-specific information in a statement to Bloomberg. Micron Technology, Western Digital, and United Microelectronics have also responded to the questionnaire, according to a U.S. government website.

Bloomberg reported that several tech companies in South Korea were preparing to submit information before the deadline. Those companies and the U.S. have negotiated regarding how much data would be shared.

Concerns arose regarding the questionnaire about customer privacy. Some were also worried that the U.S. was trying to force companies to share trade secrets.

What you need to know

• TSMC announced plans to build a new plant in Japan to produce chips.
• The plant is unlikely to produce chips until 2024.
• Older chipmaking technology will be used to create chips for the automotive industry.
• The company warns that chip supply will be tight throughout 2022.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) announced plans to build a plant to manufacturer chips in Japan during an earnings call covering Q3 2021 (via Reuters). The plant will focus on making chips with older technologies, as opposed to creating high-end processors used in flagship smartphones and other electronic devices. The resulting chips will help meet demand in the automotive industry and other sectors.

While TSMC's new plant aims to address the ongoing global chip shortage, chip production isn't expected until late 2024. TSMC is finalizing plans for the plant and still requires approval from its board.

"TSMC is working closely with our customers to plan our capacity and investing in leading edge and speciality technologies to support their demand," said TSMC CEO C. C. Wei in the earnings call.

Wei did not share details about the upcoming factory, such as its planned capacity.

The CEO predicted chip capacity to remain "tight" through 2022. He added that TSMC's chip pricing will "remain strategic, not opportunistic to reflex [the company's] value creation."

TSMC's net profit in July-September 2021 was T$156.3 billion ($5.56 billion). That greatly exceeded the expectations of analysts, which were T$149 billion ($5.3 billion).

TSMC raised its revenue growth forecast for 2021 to close to 24% compared to its earlier forecast of 20%. The company pointed to an "industry megatrend" as the reason for the increased expectations.

Earlier this week, it was revealed the TSMC has been hesitant to respond to a request from the U.S. government regarding the company's supply chain.

What you need to know

• TSMC is considering how to respond to the U.S. government's request for information regarding the company's supply chain.
• The U.S. government has requested that several chip suppliers share information to help address the current global chip shortage.
• TSMC says that it "will definitely not leak our company's sensitive information, especially that related to our customers."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is hesitant to fulfill a request from the U.S. government regarding the company's supply chain. The U.S. government has sent out questionnaires to several chip makers to help fix the ongoing global chip shortage. TSMC expressed concerns over customer privacy and trade secrets (via Nikkei Asia).

"We will definitely not leak our company's sensitive information, especially that related to our customers," said Sylvia Fang, TSMC's general counsel. "We are still at the stage of doing some preliminary research and evaluating the contents of the questionnaire."

Chipmakers, including TSMC, have until November 8, 2021 (45 days from when given the questionnaire) to voluntarily provide information to the U.S. Government. The companies are expected to share information regarding key customers, production capacity, and inventories.

If TSMC and others don't voluntarily provide information, the U.S. government could take more drastic action. After a meeting with chip makers, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the Biden administration could resort to Cold War-era national security tactics.

"What I told them is, 'I don't want to have to do anything compulsory but if they don't comply, then they'll leave me no choice,'" said Raimondo to Bloomberg. "I said today we're evaluating all of our options right now, all the tools. I hope not to go there but we need to see some progress and we definitely need compliance."

What you need to know

• The global chip shortage has strained many industries' technology supply chains for much of the past two years.
• The Biden administration has expressed interest in not only staying on top of the situation, but helping alleviate problems where possible.
• Microsoft, Intel, TSMC, and others were set to attend a virtual meeting today to update the Biden administration on the state of the shortages.

Though not every industry has felt the chip shortage with equal impact, if you've been brave enough to attempt buying one of the best graphics cards anytime in the past year or so, you know full well that many people in the PC world are being starved of the tech they want due to the ongoing semiconductor crisis.

That's one of the many reasons why major companies and countries are taking extensive measures to combat the shortages. Parties impacted by a lack of chips range from automobile manufacturers to PC part makers, hence why entities from those industries and many others have gathered at a virtual White House meeting today (via Reuters).

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is on the list of attendees, as are Microsoft, Apple, and Samsung personnel, as well as representatives for chipmaking behemoths such as TSMC. The meeting is set to address the coronavirus Delta variant's chip supply impact, as well as how producers and consumers can improve communication during the strained period.

Though the U.S. Senate passed a bill not too long ago greenlighting $52 billion to semiconductor funding, it'll be a while before that money, or today's meeting's consequences, trickle down to consumers in the way of heightened supplies. So until the global situation starts to get better, keep your fingers crossed and keep that shiny RTX 3060 Ti on your watch list.

What you need to know

• IDC expects that the semiconductor industry will normalize and balance by the middle of 2022.
• The same report states that there is a "potential for overcapacity in 2023" for semiconductors.
• This overcapacity would be caused by semiconductor manufacturing efforts coming online by the end of 2022.

Semiconductor availability could see major growth over the coming couple of years, according to a report by IDC. In fact, IDC states that there's a "potential for overcapacity in 2023" as manufacturers expand capacity to make chips by the end of 2022. If that does occur, it would be a significant shift from the current global chip shortage.

Due to the global chip shortage, semiconductor manufacturers haven't been able to meet the demand for certain products, such as the Xbox Series X and the best GPUs. The demand for these types of devices will likely stick around, but manufacturers will have the ability to meet demand due to increased production efforts.

Several manufacturers, including Intel, Samsung, and TSMC, have plans for advanced chipmaking facilities. The U.S. government recently passed legislation to help the chipmaking process within the country. While some of the largest chipmakers plan to increase their efforts, foundries cannot be built overnight. Most of the expansions in the supply chain won't lead to results until the second half of 2022.

"The semiconductor content story is intact and not only does it benefit the semiconductor companies, but the unit volume growth in many of the markets that they serve will also continue to drive very good growth for the semiconductor market," says Mario Morales, group vice president, Enabling Technologies and Semiconductors at IDC.

While it could be over a year before supply catches up with demand, there could be good news on the way for people on the market for new hardware.

If you've recently spent any amount of time trying to buy the best graphics cards or best CPU for your custom PC, you'll notice a problem: Everything is out of stock or being sold for exorbitant prices on reselling sites such as eBay. That's because there's a chip shortage going on all around the world.

This tiny ingredient of much of our technology is at the core of why people are having to resort to grey markets to get their tech these days. Semiconductors ― in this instance, silicon-based chips ― are in short supply thanks to the pandemic and the increasingly high demand for electronics as a result of a global shift toward remote work. However, chipmaking is a time-intensive process, meaning the spike in consumer hunger is outpacing supply by a hefty margin, even as companies rush to keep up.

I spoke with Navitas Semiconductor CEO Gene Sheridan to hear his thoughts on the state of the shortage as well as to learn if there are alternative solutions to the current worldwide conundrum.

Consumer impact

As a result of low supply and high demand, major semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC are upping their prices. I asked Sheridan what portion of these price hikes are likely to be passed on to consumers as the shortage situation evolves.

"I think the TSMC price increase announcement is just public recognition of the natural supply and demand economics reflecting extraordinary demand for semiconductors today and going forward," Sheridan said. "In the power conversion, or fast charging market, the main power-processing semiconductors are a small percent of total costs, and once you add other components (like transformer, USB-C controllers, case, etc.), manufacturing, packaging, distribution and retail, it may be lost in the wash."

Other PC and tech components may not share the same fate as chargers, with the overall consumer-facing consequences of spiking semiconductor prices remaining to be seen. Still, in at least one department, there's a chance the end-user won't need to think about what impact the TSMCs of the world are having on their devices' prices.

Even with the global shortage's potentially minimal effect on power processing device prices, Navitas Semiconductor is focused on utilizing an alternative to silicon and, by extension, avoiding many of the existing global issues with current chip production. Though silicon has its place, Sheridan and Navitas are focused on gallium nitride (GaN).

Solutions besides silicon

When it comes to integrated circuits (ICs), there are different types with different functions, as well as different logistics to consider.

"GaN-power ICs themselves have up to 10 times lower CO2 footprint than legacy silicon chips," Sheridan stated, highlighting one of the benefits of going the GaN route. "Plus, the higher efficiency and smaller size of the end equipment mean that companies like Lenovo can make good progress on their own carbon net zero plans."

Lenovo is one of Navitas' customers, as are Dell, Xiaomi, and Amazon. These are a few of the companies utilizing GaN.

Sustainability isn't the only perk companies can gain from GaN, though. There's also the production timeline angle to consider.

"While silicon lead-times are growing, GaN power ICs can be a 6- or 12-week lead-time, and with plenty of manufacturing capacity," Sheridan said. However, he clarified that GaN won't be a substitute for everything ― at least for now.

Though GaN is great for processing power, data is another story entirely. "For processing data, it's silicon for the foreseeable future," Sheridan said. "At 1 or 2 volts, silicon has great performance metrics."

The state of semiconductors

In the short term, the sophisticated manufacturing processes of silicon semiconductors will remain the norm for much of the PC world, as processing data efficiently and effectively is key. However, as GaN has demonstrated, alternatives for different facets of processing are going mainstream, and there may yet be a more easily sustainable successor to silicon on the horizon ― just not anytime soon.

As it stands, the answer to the current shortage is the one already being invested in by so many companies and countries around the world: Up current production efforts. Expensive and resource-consuming as it is, everyone from the U.S. government to companies such as Intel and TSMC are focused on expanding what's already established. There's no telling when silicon will lose its dominance in data processing, but the safe bet is that it won't be anytime soon.

What you need to know

• TSMC's recently announced price increases for wafers will probably affect the cost of many electronic devices.
• It's predicted that smartphone prices will increase to maintain profit margins.
• Smartphones will be most affected by the wafer price increases, but PCs and other electronics could also see price increases.

Chipmaker TSMC recently shared changes to its wafer prices with customers, making it likely that price hikes for certain devices will continue into 2022. A report by Counterpoint digs into the effect of wafer price increases in the smartphone industry and the global chip industry. Since 2022 and the current quarter, wafer prices of matured nodes have gone up 25-40% and are expected to increase another 20% by 2022.

Smartphones will likely be the devices most affected by these price increases, particularly low-end devices. Though, it's safe to assume that PC parts and prices for the best Windows laptops and other computers will be affected as well. Logic integrated circuits make up a large portion of the cost of making smartphones. When integrated circuit prices go up, smartphone manufacturers have to adjust to maintain profit margins.

Counterpoint predicts a 5-12% cost increase in 2022 for logic integrated circuits for premium smartphones. A 6-14% increase is expected for mid-range smartphones. Low-end smartphones are expected to see the highest increase, ranging from 8-16%. Counterpoint notes that it doesn't expect cost increases for non-memory and non-RFFE logic integrated circuits. Note that these predictions are for the cost of logic integrated circuits in smartphones, not the prices of smartphones.

The rise in wafer prices is due to the current global chip shortage. TSMC has let its customers know that it will increase wafer prices mainly from the start of 2022. It's important to note that TSMC isn't alone in raising wafer prices. In fact, the chipmaker has largely held its wafer price stable for a long time, especially when compared to smaller manufacturers.

Counterpoint does not expect 10nm and below chips to be as affected by the increased prices of wafer prices at matured nodes. This is because TSMC and Samsung focus heavily on maintaining profit margins in devices that use these types of chips.

A full report from Counterpoint breaks down the global integrated circuit shortage and how it affects the prices of matured nodes.

Last month, we covered how price increases from TSMC may affect the best CPUs and best GPUs.

What you need to know

• The world is in the midst of a semiconductor shortage.
• Foundries producing chips have profited greatly from the shortage.
• Foundries' revenue for Q2 2021 smashes all previous quarterly records.

In case you haven't recently attempted to buy one of the best graphics cards or best CPUs for your custom PC, here's the state of the market: It's messed up. Thanks to a global semiconductor shortage that's been ravaging supplies of most major PC components, demand for tech has never been higher — meaning the foundries responsible for the basis of said tech are making a killing.

That's the takeaway from a report provided by TrendForce, which highlights that foundry revenue hit a record high yet again, marking the eighth quarter in a row where that's happened. In short, since Q3 2019, every quarter's smashed the existing ceiling. This time around, revenue reached $24.407 billion, which is a 6.2% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase compared to Q1 2021's figures.

To break down that massive $24 billion figure, know that $13.3 billion of it was thanks to TSMC, which blew the competition out of the water. Samsung came in at a distant second with $4.334 billion, while SMIC came in fifth with $1.344 billion in its ongoing attempt to build up China for its chipmaking war with the U.S. Though fifth place isn't impressive by itself, consider that SMIC grew by 21.8% QoQ to achieve that revenue haul, granting it 5.3% of the total foundry market share.

Even though Q2 2021's overall figures were influenced by price hikes, record-smashing numbers are still record-smashing numbers. It remains to be seen whether TSMC, Samsung, and the rest of the pack can keep the momentum going into Q3 2021.

What you need to know

• TSMC will reportedly increase the cost of its chip production in December 2021.
• The move could lead to higher prices for CPUs, GPUs, SoCs, and other PC parts.
• Several chip producers have raised prices in recent months, including GlobalFoundries, PSMC, SMIC, and UMC.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will reportedly raise its prices for chip production. The move will likely improve TSMC's margins but could also lead to increased prices for some of the best CPUs, best GPUs, SoCs, and some other PC parts. The price increases are in part due to an increased demand for semiconductors.

According to a report by DigiTimes, the prices of wafer processing with TSMC's 7nm and thinner fabrication processes will increase by up to 10%. A larger increase of 20% is planned for wafer processing with TSMC's 16nm and thicker nodes. The increased prices will take effect in December, according to sources that spoke with DigiTimes.

These increased prices could potentially lead to a rise in the cost of PC parts for end users. The exact effect that these changes will have on the price of consumer-oriented goods could vary between industries. As noted by Tom's Hardware, the cost of Apple products may not change drastically because the company sells expensive devices. Chip sales by companies like AMD and Qualcomm may be more affected, which could result in lower profits or increased prices for consumers.

DigiTimes notes that TSMC isn't alone in raising its prices. The chip production prices of GlobalFoundries, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC), Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), and United Microelectronics (UMC) have all increased recently in response to growing demand.

What you need to know

• Chip manufacturer TSMC is considering opening a chip manufacturing fab in Germany.
• It would be the company's first manufacturing facility in Europe.
• TSMC is "in the preliminary stage of reviewing whether to go to Germany," according to the company's chairman.

TSMC, one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, could potentially open a fab in Germany. If the company does open a manufacturing facility in Germany, it would be its first in Europe. The company's chairman, Mark Liu, discussed the possibility in TSMC's annual shareholder's meeting, according to Nikkei (via Tom's Hardware).

"We are in the preliminary stage of reviewing whether to go to Germany," said Liu. "It is still very early, but we are seriously evaluating it, and [a decision] will depend on our customers' needs."

While TSMC could eventually open a factory in Germany, nothing is set in stone. "We continue to communicate with our major clients in Germany to see whether this is most important and effective for our clients," said Liu (via Reuters). "It's too early to say."

Opening a factory in Germany would help TSMC spread out its manufacturing efforts. TSMC's upcoming factory in Arizona will also diversify the company's chip manufacturing.

In contrast with any potential European facility that is in preliminary stages, TSMC is already planning to make a 5nm-capable TSMC facility in Arizona.

As pointed out by Tom's Hardware, building chips in Germany would have a major hurdle to overcome. At the moment, all of TSMC's testing and packaging facilities are in Taiwan. That would mean that the company would have to make chips in Germany, ship them to Asia, and then send them elsewhere.

What you need to know

• Intel and Apple will reportedly be the first adopters of TSMC's 3nm chip manufacturing technology.
• TSMC claims that chips built with the 3nm process will perform up to 15% better and use up to 30% less power than those made with 5nm tech.
• Intel famously had to delay its move to 7nm technology.

Intel and Apple will be the first adopters of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) 3nm chip technology, according to a report by Nikkei Asai. Several sources told Nikkei Asia that commercial output of the chips should start in the second half of 2022. Intel will reportedly work with TSMC to make CPUs for notebooks and data centers using the 3nm process.

Intel has famously delayed its move down to smaller nanometer technology. Recent reports suggest that the company's 7nm Meteor Lake chips are set to be released in 2023. By working with TSMC, Intel can move to chips made with a 3nm process while it works on improving its own technology.

AMD, which competes with Intel in the computing space, is reportedly set to use TSMC's 5nm technology for notebook processors in 2022.

3nm refers to the measurement between transistors on a chip. Generally, smaller gaps indicate better processors.

TSMC claims that 3nm technology can improve computing performance by between 10% and 15% over 5nm tech. The technology also reduces power consumption by between 35% and 30%, according to TSMC.

Nikkei Asia's sources indicate that Apple's iPad will likely be the first device powered by chips made with 3nm technology. While Apple's hardware may be the first to run on the new chips, a source told Nikkei Asia that Intel may order more of the new processors, "Currently the chip volume planned for Intel is more than that for Apple's iPad using the 3-nanometer process."

Intel confirmed that it is working with TSMC for its 2023 product lineup to Nikkei Asia but did not specify which process will be used in that project. TSMC and Apple have not shared comments on the story at this time.

Our sister site iMore covers the same news with an emphasize on how it affects Apple's hardware.

What you need to know

• The global semiconductor crisis attracted government attention many months ago.
• $52 billion in semiconductor funding has long been waiting for U.S. Senate approval.
• The bill containing said funding just passed.

The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act is a long overdue one. It grants $250 billion in funding, subsidies, and more, all aimed at boosting the United States' technological prospects. Though the bill is being positioned as an American response to China's strides toward technological dominance, there is a less divisive perspective one may choose to view the bill from: That of a certified gamer™ who just wants access to an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti GPU with which to juice up their RGB-adorned PC.

One of the biggest casualties of the semiconductor shortage has been computer component availability, with the best graphics cards also being among the hardest to find anywhere online or in stores. The shortages are so extreme that people have been offering thousands of dollars to wait outside Best Buys ahead of the smallest supply drip feeds. $52 billion in funding (pulled from the overall $250 billion) will hopefully trickle down to average joes in the form of increased supplies of the consumer PC components they love and want.

Here's the concept: Companies such as Intel and TSMC have been awaiting the $52 billion of the Innovation and Competition Act reserved for semiconductor activities. If they get their way and are able to increase manufacturing output and boost profits in the process with the U.S. government's monetary assistance, standard manufacturing pipelines can resume, and shortages will go down, eventually leading to top-tier GPUs and CPUs becoming more widely available, as they were before 2020.

Mind you, that's the ideal outcome. As to what will actually happen, who knows. Still, many feel optimistic about the act and its various technological implications, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who applauded the Senate for making the bill happen.

On the flip side, China's not happy about the bill whatsoever. This may indicate the legislation will have indirect and unsavory consequences down the line, but for now, it's time to enjoy the idea of a few more PC parts in circulation.

What you need to know

• The Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo has published a report regarding a proposed chip plant.
• The proposed plant would be a product of TSMC and Sony.
• The joint venture is reportedly being requested by the Japanese government.

As shared by Reuters, the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper has reported that the Japanese government wants Sony and TSMC to team up to invest one trillion yen into developing a 20-nanometer chip plant. According to the report, it'd be the country's first 20 nm plant and would be built close to another Sony plant in southwest Japan.

Other details are scarce, but even so, Nikkan Kogyo's piece has elicited responses from two of the parties named in it. Though Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida didn't comment on the report directly, he did say that "stable chip supplies are important for Japan to maintain its international competitiveness." Reuters also notes that "a ministry spokesman said the report was not true but declined to elaborate." TSMC did not comment.

It wouldn't be too surprising that Japan wants to up its chipmaking game, as nations worldwide are currently in a rush to out-manufacture each other in the aforementioned sector. South Korea, China, the United States, and more are aggressively pushing to avoid being dependent with regards to their chipmaking needs. Taiwan being something of a global nucleus of chip activity has western nations scrambling while China is trying to ween itself off of American companies, leading to a spike in domestic-facing efforts across the globe.

Though not confirmed by the parties named in it, this report on Japan's activities does seem logical, given the direction Japan's neighbors are headed in.

What you need to know

• The global semiconductor shortage has impacted buyers and sellers for many months.
• Chipmakers are feeling the crunch and are reportedly raising prices.
• It's unknown how long these increased prices will persist.

In today's latest semiconductor shortage news, not only is the EU gearing up to boost its chipmaking game, but a Taiwanese news outlet is reporting chipmakers are spiking prices to varying degrees. Some are said to be fronting conservative hikes while others are sending bills through the roof (via Tom's Hardware).

According to The Taipei Times and the statistics it reported on from Lu Media, "more than 30 semiconductor companies have issued price adjustment letters, with product price increases ranging from 10% to 30%." Moreover, certain IC products were cited as having price multiplications in the dozens, with those hikes threatening to bankrupt small and medium-tier enterprises dependent on said products.

"Since April, the foundry prices of companies including UMC, SMIC, Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. have increased by about 10% to 30%," the report reads. It notes that TSMC, the pack leader in everything semiconductor-related, has not raised prices but has discontinued certain discount practices, which results in a net customer price increase similar to a traditional price hike.

It's specified in the report that the companies being referenced are "mainland" (i.e., the Chinese mainland), so keep its findings within context. Still, if prices are rising to the tune of 30% over there, it's only a matter of time before the economic ramifications are felt worldwide through every nation and company that deals with the affected chipmakers. The shortage is expected to last for a while longer, so how bad price increases may get remains to be seen.