Taiwanese foundry (contract chipmaking) company TSMC has moved to expand its advanced packaging (AP) operations.
According to Taiwanese media including the Industry and Commerce Times and the Economic Daily on the 13th, TSMC is expected to unveil related plans at its first-quarter earnings briefing scheduled for the 16th. Citing sources, Taiwanese outlets reported that TSMC will sequentially convert four 8-inch (200 mm) wafer fabs in Hsinchu in the north and Tainan in the south into advanced wafer fabs, and that existing packaging and testing plants will be upgraded to support advanced 2 nm (nanometer; one-billionth of a meter).
Chairman Wei Zhejia of TSMC, while presenting results in Jan., projected this year's capital expenditures at $52 billion–$56 billion (about 77.7 trillion–83.6 trillion won), 27%–37% higher than last year's $40.9 billion (about 61.1 trillion won). Such investment will go into building the seventh advanced packaging plant (AP7) and the eighth plant (AP8) in Chiayi and Tainan, respectively. TSMC is said to plan to develop the two plants into hubs for advanced packaging.
The Hsinchu Plant 1 (AP1) operating in Taiwan is to handle advanced packaging needed for the 2-nanometer premium process produced in Hsinchu and Taichung; the Longtan, Taoyuan Plant 3 (AP3) is mainly for packaging needed for Apple's premium processors; and the Taichung Plant 5 (AP5) is expected to support advanced packaging for the 2-nanometer process at Fab 25. Taiwanese media reported that AP7, under construction in Taibao, Chiayi County, is targeting mass production after the end of 2028.
Mass production at the first and second advanced packaging plants in Arizona, U.S., is reportedly slated for 2028 and 2029–2030, respectively. Sources said TSMC's moves also aim to allay concerns that, with recent U.S. fab expansions weakening the so-called "silicon shield" (semiconductor shield), Taiwan's TSMC could morph into "America's TSMC" (ASMC).