TSMC is stretching its production lines as its wafer queue is getting silly.
The chip foundry is widening capacity with most of the attention going on the newer 2nm and 3nm lines.
AI firms have been boasting they will expand compute capabilities in a big way, which means more chips for multi-year buildouts meant to cover current and future demand.
OpenAI is even being linked to a custom smartphone processor effort with Qualcomm and MediaTek, targeting 300-400 million annual shipments to knock the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple’s iPhone off its perch.
TSMC has been enjoying extra orders, but its production lines are getting battered because it cannot keep up with customer demand.
Supply chain chatter says: “TSMC’s two 2nm facilities have been completely booked”
TSMC is pushing ahead with rapid expansion anyway, with 2nm and 3nm wafer lines treated like hot property for AI builds.
Those two process nodes are being sold as the route to bleeding-edge AI chips, which is great marketing when everyone is scared of being left with last year’s silicon.
To keep up, TSMC is expected to expand 3nm wafer output to 180,000 WPM, up from about 150,000 WPM now.
Its 2nm process is tipped to reach 100,000 WPM by year-end 2026, a figure that makes rivals start muttering into their spreadsheets.
TSMC is facing a severe shortage of advanced process technologies and is rapidly expanding production. According to supply chain sources, TSMC’s popular 3nm Taiwan plant, which was originally scheduled to have a capacity of 150,000 wafers by the end of this year, is now expected to increase to 180,000 wafers, 20 per cent more than expected; after the 2nm process went into mass production at the end of last year, the capacity will surge to nearly 100,000 wafers by the end of this year.
During its earnings call, Wei said it is spending heavily to accelerate expansions at existing fabs and to build new facilities just to keep pace.
Wei has admitted that supply shortages will drag into 2027 as big players such as Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC keep renewing wafer orders.
That wafer tightness gives rivals an opening, with Intel getting a confidence boost as major customers start sounding less allergic to alternatives.
Intel is still a key TSMC partner, but Chipzilla’s foundry push is meant to kick in during the next few years and it is hinting at big-name signings it is not ready to name yet.
