Chip giant TSMC determined to 'keep roots in Taiwan'

HSINCHU, Taiwan

Chip giant TSMC said it is determined to "keep its roots in Taiwan," as it launched a massive new research and development facility in the northern city of Hsinchu on July 28.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) controls more than half the world's output of microchips, which are the lifeblood of the modern global economy, powering everything from coffee machines and smartphones to cars and missiles.

Much of its manufacturing base is in Hsinchu, where its state-of-the-art facilities are producing ever-smaller silicon wafers that have skyrocketed in demand, especially due to the recent boom in AI-related technology.

At the July 28 launch of its R&D facility, chairman Mark Liu said the center will "develop world-leading technologies in the semiconductor industry more actively to explore 2-nanometer and 1.4-nanometer technology."

The company is racing to begin mass production of the 1.4-nanometer chip, smaller than a fraction of a fingernail, ahead of its rival Samsung, the world's second-largest producer.

Its production lines have expanded beyond Taiwan as Western powers have raised concerns about the crucial industry being centered on an island that China claims as its territory, having ramped up political pressures against it in the past year.

But CEO CC Wei said on July 28 that TSMC intends to keep the heart of its technological prowess in Taiwan.

"We want to use this opportunity to show Taiwanese people TSMC's determination to keep its roots in Taiwan," Wei said.