Since it was revealed that Apple officially rejected TSMC's chip price increase in 2023, it has triggered various speculations from the outside world. At present, neither Apple nor TSMC has made any response to the outside world. So what will TSMC react to Apple’s strong rejection?
As we all know, since last year, many industries have announced chip emergencies. Since high-end chip foundry is mainly controlled by TSMC and Samsung , especially TSMC's chip market share below 7nm accounted for nearly 70%. Therefore, in the past two years, TSMC has not only received orders, but also has a much higher attitude than before. Normal singles will be pushed back, and production will be given priority for orders. Even so, the orders still float like snowflakes. So at that time, some industry insiders issued a warning that chip shortage is just one aspect, and the most worrying thing is that chips may go from being unable to buy them to being unable to afford them.
. This is true. Last year, the price of TSMC's wafer foundry rose across the board. The price of mature process chips of 16 nanometers and above was increased by 10% to 20%, and the prices of 7 nanometers and more advanced process chips were both increased by 10%. The most fatal thing is that this is not a one-time transaction, and the price has increased by four or five times in just one and a half years.
This time, the news about TSMC chips going to raise prices has also caused a lot of controversy. According to an overseas media, chip foundry manufacturing giant TSMC told customers that it plans to raise the chip price by up to 20%. This time, , Apple did not indulge TSMC, but mercilessly rejected TSMC's price increase requirements. The reason why this matter was pushed to the hot search is that in several rounds of chip price increases, other chip companies have suffered price increases of varying amplitudes. Only Apple has received the preferential treatment of TSMC as usual, and the price increase has not exceeded 3%.
Although TSMC is full of sincerity, Apple still decisively rejected TSMC's price increase requirement. Compared with other chip companies' swallowing their anger, Apple seems much stronger. So where does Apple's confidence come from?
generally comes from two aspects:
The first aspect is that Apple is the largest funder of TSMC. According to public information online, Apple generated US$14.8 billion in revenue for TSMC in 2021 alone, accounting for 26% of all TSMC's revenue. The most important thing is that without Huawei Kirin chip , the advanced chips are the dominant ones of Apple and Qualcomm , and Apple's chip revenue accounts for the majority. If Apple handed over the A series and M series processing to Samsung OEM, TSMC would lose a lot of revenue. If Qualcomm took the opportunity to make a bad move, can TSMC still hold on? So Cook pinched the seven inches of TSMC and firmly grasped the bargaining power.
On the other hand, the United States does not restrict the import of the high-end lithography machine of ASMA and other Korean chip companies. This further deepens the confrontation between Samsung and TSMC, which TSMC cannot be unaware of this.
Thinking about the past, after Huawei Kirin chips were sanctioned, Liu Deyin has stated more than once that TSMC's chip business will not be affected without Huawei orders. Now it seems that without Huawei Kirin chips, Apple has strengthened its momentum.
In fact, some netizens have expected that TSMC's high-end chip business is all from American chip companies, which is not a good thing for TSMC. Once you lose your bargaining power, your life will definitely not be much better. You should know that Huawei contributed nearly 16% of its revenue to TSMC in 2019. If HiSilicon chips are not suppressed, Huawei's market share will be comparable to Apple. With the Kirin chip to compete with it, TSMC can at least make a multiple choice at this time, or live without looking at Apple's face.
Of course, these are all later stories. After all, this is not something that TSMC can control, but what I fear most is not that TSMC loses its bargaining power, but that the high-level chip production capacity is transferred outward, and finally there is equipment but no orders.
As we all know, the United States is trying hard to control the status of high-end chips. First, use subsidies and tax cuts to convince chip manufacturers to build production capacity lines locally, and second, it is to speed up interference with my country's chip manufacturing capabilities to accelerate.
