About C. Wei
C. Wei, Chairman and CEO of TSMC, has been actively addressing the company's capacity expansion and AI-driven demand in recent earnings calls. In the Q2 2026 call, he announced an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona to build fabs for 2-nanometer and advanced packaging technologies, citing strong multi-year demand from US customers. He stated that the AI mega trend continues to drive robust demand for leading-edge silicon, and that TSMC's conviction in the multi-year AI outlook remains very high. In earlier calls, Wei noted that TSMC's wafer supply, not power consumption, is currently the bottleneck for AI infrastructure, and that he has spent significant time speaking directly with cloud service providers to validate demand before committing to large capital expenditures.
Wei has also addressed geopolitical and market uncertainties. In the Q2 2025 call, he said TSMC had not seen changes in customer behavior due to tariff policies but acknowledged risks to consumer-related segments. He reaffirmed that TSMC is not engaged in discussions regarding joint ventures or technology licensing with other companies. Regarding overseas expansion, Wei stated that TSMC is executing its plans in Japan and Europe as scheduled, and that these investments in specialty technology are not competing with leading-edge expansion in the US. He described the current environment as one of "fragmented globalization," where overseas fab costs are higher for all manufacturers, but TSMC aims to remain cost-effective through manufacturing scale and technology leadership.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from C. Wei's recent appearances.
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Transcript (7 segments)
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Isabel Wan0:02
TSMC chairman and CEO CC Wei addressed pressing issues facing the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer during Thursday's Q1 earnings call. We also attempted to reassure shareholders about the company's performance this year despite concerns over US President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on imported semiconductors.
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C. Wei0:23
We understand there are uncertainties and risk from the potential impact of tariff policies. However, we have not seen any change in our customers' behavior so far. Therefore, we continue to expect our full year 2025 revenue to increase by close to mid-20s percent in US dollar terms. All policy, especially this tariff decision, are the government's responsibility to decide, and as a private company, we are fully respectful of this, but we are not getting involved.
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Isabel Wan1:04
But TSMC had also announced recent breakthroughs at TSMC's Arizona manufacturing facilities.
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C. Wei1:09
Our first fab in Arizona has already successfully entered high volume production in Q4 2024. The construction of our second fab, which will utilize a 3 nanometer process technology, is already complete, and we are working on speeding up the volume production schedule based on the strong AI-related demand from our customers. Our third and fourth fab will utilize N2 and A16 process technologies, and with the expectation of receiving all the necessary permits, are scheduled to begin construction later this year. Our fifth and sixth fab will use even more advanced technologies. The construction and ramp schedule for this fab will be based on our customers' demand. The reason we are expanding in Arizona, actually let me say again, is all because of our customers' request, and that because they have very high demands, very strong AI demand from US customers such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, and Broadcom, and so that we need to expand our capacity in the US to support them. But I would expect our two nanometers of capacity around 30% will be in Arizona.
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Isabel Wan2:42
We further refuted any potential joint venture of TSMC with Intel during the call.
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C. Wei2:45
I'd like to mention that TSMC is not engaged in any discussion with other companies regarding any joint venture, technology licensing, or technology transfer and sharing.
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Isabel Wan3:02
Industry experts are also divided on the potential TSMC-Intel partnership. While such a move could strengthen US-Taiwan supply chain cooperation and expand TSMC's market presence in the US, significant differences in corporate culture and technological approaches pose significant challenges. As Trump continues his pledge to restore American manufacturing, questions remain about Taiwan's ability to maintain its competitive edge in a global semiconductor supply chain. This is Isabel Wan in Taipei for TVBS World Taiwan.
