Currently, the world is facing a large-scale "chip shortage", and industries such as automobiles are experiencing shutdowns due to chip shortages. However, some are happy and some are sad. Semiconductor foundry giant TSMC has made a lot of money because of this chip shortage.
is reaping the benefits
It is not an exaggeration to say that TSMC is reaping the benefits in this round of chip shortage.
As the world's largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC 's major customers include almost all leading hardware manufacturers and chip design companies. At present, these large customers have not let TSMC "disappoint" and are placing large orders for them one after another.
The first is the upcoming launch of the new iPhone 13 series. In order to ensure that the new phones are shipped on time and consolidate their position in the high-end market, Apple has been repeatedly rumored to be competing for TSMC's production capacity.
According to Kuai Technology’s news on July 26, Apple TSMC has booked more than 100 million A15 processors, and the first batch of new iPhone 13 series machines may exceed the 95 million units previously predicted by the industry. .
In addition to Apple , other major manufacturers are also not idle. Chip design majors Qualcomm and Unisoc are also reported to increase the amount of TSMC .
Phoenix and other media reported on July 26 that in the third quarter of this year, Qualcomm's TSMC's wafer production volume will increase by 60% compared with the second quarter; Unisoc's wafer production volume in the third quarter will also be higher than that of
Phoenix and other media on July 26. Increased by 50% in the second quarter.
In an environment where cores are generally scarce in the industry, it is expected that leading manufacturers will place additional orders and increase stocking to ensure competitive advantage, and TSMC is bound to hit a new revenue high again.
Semiconductor No. 1 Brother
Behind the rush of giants to deliver orders is TSMC ’s unquestionable industry status. As the only player in the global semiconductor market, TSMC ’s technical strength and production capacity scale make it difficult for competitors such as Samsung to shake it.
At present, TSMC ’s 5nm is still the best-performing process in the industry. In terms of more advanced 3nm and even 2nm, TSMC is also at the forefront of the industry.
TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia said in early June that TSMC will build a 2nm process trial production line within this year, and the 3nm process will be mass-produced in the second half of next year.
Not surprisingly, Apple will continue to be the first batch of customers for TSMC’s 3nm process. Such a strong alliance may once again improve the performance of the new iPad and so on.
And TSMC 's competitors Samsung and Intel and are lagging behind in the 5nm process time node, and 3nm is even more "remote".
In addition to more advanced processes, TSMC's production capacity scale also makes it difficult for Samsung and others to catch up. financial reports over the years show that from 2016 to 2020, TSMC ’s 12-inch wafer shipments increased from 9.6 million to 1,240 wafers.
In recent years, TSMC has continued to build and expand factories around the world. For example, Wei Zhejia recently stated that TSMC is pursuing a global manufacturing base deployment strategy. In addition to the mainland, it will also build factories in the United States, Japan and other places.
Chip shortage continues
In the short term, TSMC 's profit-taking situation will not be shaken, because the tight global chip production capacity will not change for a while.
TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia said on July 15 that the shortage of chip production capacity is expected to continue until 2022. Behind this is the rapid growth in demand for chips in many fields such as mobile phones, automotive electronics, and the Internet of Things, driven by 5G.
However, TSMC should also see that the chip crisis brings not only revenue growth opportunities, but also hidden crises.The most obvious thing about is that all countries are seizing the opportunity of the chip shortage to accelerate self-research and self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry.
For example, Intel has previously announced that it will build a new wafer factory in Arizona, USA, to enter the chip foundry field, which will undoubtedly take away part of the TSMC market.
In China, in addition to traditional chip design companies, many leading manufacturers in the industry have also begun to enter the semiconductor segment. Take the automotive market where chip shortage is serious as an example. SAIC, FAW, BYD, etc. have all begun to lay out automotive chips.
In other parts of the chip industry chain, foundries represented by SMIC are also aggressively expanding production like TSMC . Industry leading companies have emerged in many domestic markets such as semiconductor equipment and raw materials.
In 2020, TSMC ’s share in the global foundry market has exceeded 50%. It is foreseeable that with the expansion of TSMC and the support of many leading brands, TSMC 's leading advantage may be consolidated.
However, the competitive landscape of the global semiconductor industry chain is changing due to this chip shortage. Although TSMC 's leading position will be difficult to shake in a short time, the influx of a large number of players is also a big worry for TSMC .
It is still unclear whether competitors such as Samsung can use the next generation technology to overtake them.
text/Yu Xi
