Driven by AI Boom, TSMC to Invest $2.9 Bln in Advanced Chip Plant in Taiwan 

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Driven by AI Boom, TSMC to Invest $2.9 Bln in Advanced Chip Plant in Taiwan 

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters)

Driven by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence, Taiwanese chip maker TSMC plans to invest nearly T$90 billion ($2.87 billion) in an advanced packaging facility in northern Taiwan, the company said on Tuesday.

"To meet market needs, TSMC is planning to establish an advanced packaging fab in the Tongluo Science Park," the company said in a statement.

CEO C.C. Wei said last week that TSMC is unable to fulfil customer demand driven by the AI boom and plans to roughly double its capacity for advanced packaging - which involves placing multiple chips into a single device, lowering the added cost of more powerful computing.

For advanced packaging, especially TSMC's chip on wafer on substrate (CoWoS), capacity is "very tight," Wei said after the company reported a 23% fall in second-quarter profit.

"We are increasing our capacity as quickly as possible. We expect this tightening will be released next year, probably towards the end of next year."

The world's largest contract chipmaker said TSMC's position as the leading manufacturer of AI chips - including for chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices - has not offset broader end market weakness as the global economy recovers more slowly than it had expected.

The Tongluo Science Park administration has officially approved TSMC's application to lease land, the company said, adding the new plant in the northern county of Miaoli would create about 1500 jobs.

Even as the leading Apple supplier ramps up its expansion abroad, it plans to keep its most advanced chip technology in Taiwan, a global powerhouse in manufacturing semiconductors that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.



Nintendo Offers New Switch 2 Details ahead of June 5 Launch

People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
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Nintendo Offers New Switch 2 Details ahead of June 5 Launch

People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
People stand in front of Nintendo's logo in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers.

At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, the company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen and several games that will launch with the console.

Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its Joy-Con controller, which will launch a new “GameChat” feature that allows you to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and let you share your game screen with other players. A built-in microphone will also allow you to chat with other gamers, The AP reported.

Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2 is the ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse. The developer displayed multiple ways to use the new function in games, such as angling a club in a golf game.

Wednesday's presentation led off with an extended look at a new Mario Kart game that saw in-game characters doing flips, tricks and rail grinds. The developer also unveiled a new James Bond game, dubbed Project 007, revisiting a classic Nintendo 64 console hit revered by many first-person shooter game fans.

The new console will be backwards compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — but users will need to purchase a new type of SD memory card for the Switch 2. The presentation revealed that normal SD cards will not be compatible with the system, but data from the original Switch can be transferred to the new console.

Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where gamers can get a hands-on experience with the new system. Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning this month.