TSMC is reportedly planning to build more chip fabs in Europe, with a focus on AI semiconductors.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen said the company has started construction on its Dresden facility in Germany and is already planning its future fabs.
He said that the growing need for AI chips could provide new opportunities for TSMC, adding that the company will need to decide whether to expand its Dresden site or establish facilities in other European countries.
No timelines or locations were specified and in a request for comment, TSMC told Bloomberg it was focused on global expansion projects, with no new investment plans at the time.
TSMC broke ground on its €10 billion ($10.9bn) Dresden fab in August 2024, with the site due to be operational by late 2027. At full capacity, it will produce 40,000 wafers, focusing on the company’s 28nm, 22nm, and 16/12m nodes.
In addition to the Dresden fab, TSMC has also invested $65bn to build three chip fabs in the US state of Arizona and is planning to open a second semiconductor fab in Kumamoto, Japan.
Earlier this month, TSMC also announced it would be building two additional fabs at the Nanzih Technology Industrial Park in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, bringing the company’s total number of facilities in the region to five.
The comments from Wu come ahead of TSMC’s Q3 2024 results, with the company expected to report net profits of $9.27bn for the quarter ending September 30.
