TSMC nears a 3nm/5nm crunch as Apple and AI drive demand

TSMC’s production lines are running close to the redline. Ctee reports that as soon as next year, capacity for 3 nm and 5 nm chips will be fully booked by the market’s biggest players. The strongest pull comes from mobile and high-performance computing—segments that, for now, simply don’t work without TSMC silicon.

Today the 3 nm process underpins a broad sweep of high-volume products, from Apple’s A19 and the upcoming M5 to new flagship platforms from Qualcomm and MediaTek. On the PC side, TSMC is just as hard to replace: the new Snapdragon X2 Elite is built on its 3 nm node. In AI, NVIDIA’s Rubin and AMD’s Instinct MI355X are tied to N3P, effectively putting TSMC in a monopoly position for critical leading-edge technologies.

That rush is already flirting with shortage risks. In the coming months, TSMC may raise contract manufacturing prices and add capacity, including by bringing its Arizona line online. Meanwhile, 5 nm chips remain in steady demand, and Apple has reportedly reserved a sizable share of the foundry’s future 2 nm output in advance.

With so much of the industry dependent on Taiwan, the United States and other countries are searching for ways to diversify supply, yet TSMC remains the linchpin of the global semiconductor ecosystem. The open question is whether U.S. regulators will decide to scrutinize the company over its de facto monopoly.