Zhang Zhongmou's words were accurate, and TSMC suddenly turned around when it encountered a strong enemyChinese enterprises have become a lifesaver
As we all know, in the field of global chip foundry, TSMC has no rivals. Although TSMC is a latecomer to Intel, Samsung and other predecessors, it is still slapped on the beach with a stormy wave, and with TSMC's current technical strength and status, Intel and Samsung also have to call one in"Big brother"γ
Unlike Intel and Samsung, TSMC has no other commercial support and is a wafer manufacturing company that relies entirely on wafer foundry, and its strength should not be underestimated. In the process of TSMC's rise, the company has experienced three important technology battles. It is precisely because of these three technical battles that Intel and Samsung finally lost, but it also allowed TSMC to gain status and influence in the field of chip foundry.
After being defeated by TSMC, Intel and Samsung parted ways, Intel gave up the chip foundry business, while Samsung continued to do research and development, although it is not lagging behind in chip foundry technology, but the gap in performance is still relatively large. This also leads to Samsung's very embarrassing situation, there is no place where it should be, and it is also completely complete that it should not exist. Many of Samsung's big customers have been snatched up by TSMC.
But objectively speaking, it can be seen from the choice of Intel and Samsung that Samsung is still quite persevering, even if TSMC has been defeated, it has not given up, and still insists on research and development to improve the yield rate. Zhang Zhongmou is right, Samsung is the only chip foundry in the world that has the strength to compete with TSMC!
Some time ago, Samsung Electronics also came with good news, Samsung has made a new breakthrough in chip foundry yield. According to South Korea**, in just half a year, the yield rate of Samsung's 5nm 7nm foundry has increased from 60% to 90%. The yield rate of 4nm foundries has also risen to more than 75%, and old customers such as Nvidia and Qualcomm are also expected to return, and TSMC has found a strong enemy.
In the face of the sudden competitive pressure and the double impact of external operating pressure, TSMC suddenly changed. You must know that TSMC's performance in 2023 is not ideal, although Apple has pocketed more than 90% of TSMC's 3nm production capacity, but according to the latest news, TSMC's 3nm foundry yield is only 55%, which is still a certain gap with Apple's 70% yield requirement.
To appease Apple, TSMC gave"Only the cost of existing chips will be charged", so that the order of 3 nanometer chips is possible"Waste of money"γIn order to alleviate competition and commercial pressures, TSMC turned to the Chinese market. According to reports, in the first half of this year, TSMC received dozens of AI chip orders from Chinese mainland companies, which helped TSMC's revenue in the first half of the year and became TSMC's"A lifesaver"γ
Among the dozens of artificial intelligence chip manufacturers in Chinese mainland, including well-known enterprises such as Ali Pingtou and ZTE Microelectronics. Although TSMC can no longer OEM for Huawei, there are still many Chinese chip-related companies outside the US entity list that are not subject to any restrictions and can continue to do business with TSMC, and these companies are the main targets and targets of TSMC.
In the context of the recession of the global chip industry, TSMC needs to improve the yield of advanced processes as soon as possible on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also needs to continue to develop new customers"Grab it with both hands"in order to alleviate Samsung's catch-up and performance pressure. Obviously, after leaving the Chinese market, TSMC or other chip giants will not survive well, this is a fact!The broken chain cannot be decoupled, and cooperation can be win-win!