TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, has already filled its entire capacity until the end of 2026 due to a surge in demand for its 2-nanometer (2nm) manufacturing process.
Intense Demand for TSMC Chips
The technological breakthrough achieved by the company’s transition from FinFET architecture to Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor architecture is the main reason for this intense demand. This new architecture, aiming to surpass the physical limitations of current 3nm technology, promises a 10-15% performance increase or a 25-30% energy saving at the same power consumption. These advantages are seen as a critical turning point, especially for artificial intelligence processors and next-generation smartphones.
Behind this capacity utilization lies the strategic moves of technology giants, primarily Apple. Reports indicate that Apple alone has reserved more than half of the initial capacity for the A20 and A20 Pro chipsets it plans to use in the iPhone 18 series.
This situation; Qualcomm, MediaTek, AMD, and Nvidia, among other major customers, are forcing TSMC to compete for limited production share or to move towards more advanced N2P processes.
To meet this enormous demand, TSMC has allocated a massive investment budget of approximately $28.6 billion to build three new production facilities in Taiwan. The company’s goal is to maintain its market dominance by increasing monthly wafer production to 100,000 units by the end of 2026.
While Samsung, another player in the sector, started mass production earlier with the 2nm GAA process, TSMC’s efficiency and quality-focused approach is causing large-scale customers to prefer the Taiwanese giant.
TSMC is not only expanding its production lines but also planning to increase its total capital expenditure to $50 billion by 2026, aiming to overcome technological barriers and lay the foundation for next-generation technologies such as 1.4nm (A14). The capacity wars experienced during this process seem likely to both determine performance standards in the technology world and directly impact device costs in the coming years.
