(Bloomberg) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s top executive stressed that the company’s plan to spend an additional $100 billion in the US won’t affect investments at home as he sought to reassure the Taiwanese public of its commitment.
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The Hsinchu-based company is in fact trying to accelerate investments in Taiwan, where it will develop and retain its most advanced technology, Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei told reporters during a joint briefing with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Thursday.
“We are increasing investments in the US as demand from US customers is very large,” Wei said. “Our current US capacity is fully booked, it is also fully booked for next year, and we’ve already got orders for 2027.”
Wei added that the go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp. may still not be able to fully meet demand after the additional investment in the US. There is no change to the company’s plan to build 11 production lines at home this year, according to Wei, and he is asking Lai for support to secure even more land.
Wei and Lai convened an ad-hoc conference in part to allay mounting concerns in Taiwan that the island’s largest company was shifting its priorities Westward. It came just days after the world’s top producer of AI chips announced plans to invest another $100 billion in its US facilities, an expansion that aligns with President Donald Trump’s push for more domestic manufacturing.
On Thursday, Wei also tried to defuse speculation that the company may be moving its most critical research unit to the US by saying TSMC now employs 10,000 engineers to create next-generation technology in Taiwan. Its new research and development staff in Arizona will focus on optimizing existing production lines there, Wei said.
As envisioned, TSMC’s spending marks one of the largest outlays by a foreign firm in US manufacturing. The spending adds to $65 billion in planned TSMC investments in the US and would eventually bring its American presence to a half-dozen plants for advanced wafer fabrication and a couple more for advanced packaging.
Still, any additional US investment by TSMC will need approval from Taiwan’s government. Economic Minister Kuo Jyh-Huei on Tuesday downplayed concerns the expanded investment plans may Americanize the chip-maker.
