TSMC, the world’s leading chipmaker, has reportedly increased production of its advanced 3nm chips. The expansion is said to be due to increased demand from tech giants looking for advanced processors for their products. Apple was TSMC’s primary customer for the 3nm chips used in the iPhone 15 Pro smartphones in 2023. However, major players such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, NVIDIA and Intel expressed their interest and placed orders.

To accommodate this influx, TSMC reportedly aims to increase monthly 3nm wafer production to 100,000 units by 2024. The company is also working to increase production efficiency to increase productivity.

The first version of TSMC’s 3nm process (N3B) reportedly faced performance issues and was expensive. These factors may have prevented some companies from adopting the technology in the early stages.

However, TSMC’s improved 3nm second generation (N3E) process will provide better performance and affordability. This has likely led to increased customer interest, which means demand. It looks like there will be intense competition in the semiconductor market this year as major technology companies begin producing their first 3nm devices.

Whether TSMC can successfully meet this growing demand and address production issues will have a significant impact on the success of these upcoming devices and the companies behind them. In related chip news, it is reported that Chinese semiconductor giant SMIC has started production of 5nm chipsets for Huawei. SMIC also built a new semiconductor line in Shanghai to produce chips specifically designed by Huawei.