TL;DRTSMC’s CFO said inflation is raising costs and won’t rule out price rises, while its CEO said AI chip shortages will last years.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest chipmaker, told the BBC that inflation is pushing up its costs and did not rule out raising prices. CFO Wendell Huang said the company would not impose sudden “fourfold, fivefold” increases but acknowledged that costs have risen. “We reflect our value,” he said, pointing to TSMC’s technology leadership and manufacturing scale.
The comments came after TSMC’s annual shareholder meeting in Hsinchu, where chairman and CEO CC Wei told investors he would “like” to raise prices, as competitors in the memory chip market have done. Wei said the AI chip shortage would persist for years and that TSMC cannot meet customer demand despite running its fabs at full capacity. “We’re doing everything we can, wherever we can, and however we can,” Huang told the BBC.
Despite the public commitment to pricing restraint, TSMC has already begun raising what it charges for its most advanced chips. TrendForce reported in May that the company is weighing a 15% price increase on 3nm wafers in the second half of 2026, with a further 5 to 10% increase expected in 2027. Earlier reports indicated TSMC planned to raise sub-3nm prices 3 to 10% across 2026, with increases mapped through 2029.
