Chip giant TSMC benefits from AI boom - record profit

The Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC earned more than expected in the third quarter thanks to the global boom in artificial intelligence. Profits rose by 39 percent to 452.3 billion Taiwan dollars (around 12.7 billion euros), the company announced. This was more than analysts had expected. In the third quarter, TSMC achieved a turnover of 989.92 billion Taiwan dollars, an increase of around 30 percent year-on-year.

TSMC is benefiting in particular from the high demand for high-performance processors, which are used in Nvidia's graphics chips, for example, and are required for AI applications such as ChatGPT. As the most important contract manufacturer for companies such as Apple and Nvidia, TSMC is considered one of the biggest winners of the global AI investment wave.

Big AI business, but also risks

Business is currently going well, but observers point to growing risks. Increasing trade pressure from the USA under President Donald Trump and geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing could weigh on the industry. Washington is also pushing for more semiconductors to be produced in the USA.

In addition, there are concerns about a possible conflict between China and Taiwan, which could also affect strategically important TSMC plants on the island. In order to become more independent, the company is currently building production capacities in the USA, Japan and Dresden in Saxony. Regarding the plant in Germany, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said during the presentation of the business figures that construction work there is progressing well.