The world's largest chipmaker has refused to rule out price rises, with a senior executive telling the BBC that inflation is pushing up the cost of doing business – a move that could ripple through to the cost of AI infrastructure and, eventually, the prices customers pay for electronic devices.
In a rare interview at TSMC's headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, chief financial officer Wendell Huang said the company reflects its value, pointing to its "technology leadership" and "manufacturing excellence", but stopped short of committing to price rises. "Inflation, yes, did cause [our] costs to increase," he said, though he ruled out sudden "fourfold, fivefold" increases.
“TSMC's CFO says inflation is driving up costs and leaves door open to price rises, affecting electronics prices.”
Earlier that day, chairman and chief executive CC Wei told shareholders he would "like" to raise prices, as competitors have already done. TSMC makes the most advanced chips designed by Nvidia, AMD and Apple, so any increase could affect a vast range of products, from smartphones to AI data centres.
Huang also pushed back against the idea that the global expansion of TSMC – building factories in the US, Germany and Japan – was a response to geopolitical pressure from Washington or Beijing. "We go out of Taiwan to build capacity based on customers' demand. The customers want us to go there. It's not the request of government," he said.
But he was clear that the most cutting-edge production will remain in Taiwan, dismissing any quick relocation of the manufacturing ecosystem. Moving to the US would take "five or 10 years, or even longer" – a timeline that directly challenges the ambitions of US industrial policy, which has pushed TSMC to commit $165bn to its Arizona operations.
The global chip industry sits at the centre of escalating US-China trade tensions, with Washington pressing leading chipmakers to secure critical supply chains by expanding production in the US. Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing claims, produces the majority of the world's most advanced chips – the tiny processors inside smartphones, laptops and AI data centres. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently warned US President Donald Trump that mishandling Taiwan could put the relationship between the two superpowers in an "extremely dangerous situation".
Huang denied that the AI boom was a bubble, despite the surge in demand. The BBC travelled to Hsinchu Science Park, a dense cluster of fabrication plants south of Taipei, for TSMC's annual shareholder meeting and the rare interview.