Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) Chairman, C.C. Wei, has dismissed speculation that Samsung might catch up in the semiconductor sector. During a shareholder meeting, he remarked, “Dream on about catching up to us.” He asserted that Samsung would struggle to bridge the gap due to the formidable and inimitable nature of Taiwan’s entire semiconductor ecosystem.
C.C. Wei highlighted that the long-standing aspiration of their rival to overtake the leader in semiconductor manufacturing capabilities remains just that – an aspiration. Furthermore, he conveyed strong confidence that Taiwan’s preeminence in contract chip manufacturing is here to stay. The TSMC head recalled past pronouncements from their competitor, who has repeatedly promised to close the performance gap over the years.
“Twenty years ago, our competitor stated they would catch up to TSMC in 10 years,” C.C. Wei stated. “Ten years ago, they said they would catch up in another 10 years; and recently, they once again announced they would catch up in 10 years.”
Current industry analyses indicate that TSMC commands approximately 70% of the global market for custom chip fabrication. Samsung’s share stands at roughly 7%, and despite considerable investment over many years, the company has found it challenging to contest TSMC’s lead in cutting-edge manufacturing processes and production volumes.
A primary driver of this dynamic is artificial intelligence (AI). Companies developing accelerators for AI workloads are increasingly turning to TSMC, not only for their most advanced process technologies but also for sophisticated packaging solutions like CoWoS. These capabilities have become as critical as transistor density, particularly for clients like Nvidia, who are aiming to deploy increasingly powerful AI hardware.
Previously, Nvidia’s CEO had commented on Huawei’s lag in developing new processors, stating, “It’s very good technology, but TSMC has had it for 10 years.”
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