TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is the world’s largest contract semiconductor foundry in the world. It has more than 50 percent market share in the foundry business. The recent US restrictions caused the company to lose one of its largest customers — Huawei’s semiconductor unit HiSilicon.
According to a Taiwanese government minister, TSMC has already replaced the Huawei’s orders from other manufacturers. With the recent US ban, TSMC can no longer take new orders for producing Kirin chipsets. Moreover, the company can only fulfill the current orders until mid-September.
TSMC has replaced all of the canceled orders from Huawei
As per Reuters, Kung Ming-hsin, the new head of Taiwan’s National Development Council, said the US is not interfering in the country’s economic relations with China. The US ban on Huawei is only because it is not transparent and has a close relationship with the Chinese government. Of course, Huawei is denying these accusations.
He added, “With increasing demand from other customers, TSMC has quickly replaced its orders canceled by Huawei.” Huawei is one of the top five customers of TSMC. The Chinese company is currently looking for alternatives to the US supply chain.
It is said to be in talks with Chinese and Korean companies for producing its next-generation Kirin chipsets. With an increasing demand for smartphones and other gadgets, TSMC has plenty of customers to keep its production lines up and running.
TSMC to build a semiconductor facility in the US
The company is reportedly working on 5nm chip production for customers including Apple and Qualcomm. Based on the rumors, the upcoming iPhone 12 series will be powered by a 5nm Apple chip. TSMC is also planning to set up a $12 billion worth facility in the US. It is currently awaiting a nod from the US government.
It could become one of the first movers in shifting high-tech manufacturing to America. China is currently the hub for high-tech manufacturing in the world. However, several companies are now moving the majority of their manufacturing out of China.
Huawei sustained itself in the smartphone business even without the support for Google apps. However, it will surely need a partner to produce its new Kirin chipsets to power the upcoming flagship smartphones. In the last few weeks, Huawei has launched quite a few Huawei and Honor branded smartphones powered by the MediaTek chipsets.