TSMC invests $45 billion in 2026, its largest ever, to expand AI and smartphone chip production. Revenue hit $12.76B in Jan 2026, up 36.8% year-on-year.
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TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has announced a record-breaking investment program for 2026. This move comes amid the ongoing AI boom and sustained demand from the mobile market. The company's board of directors approved capital expenditures of $44.962 billion, marking the largest figure in the Taiwanese giant's history.
At the same time, TSMC disclosed its financial results for January 2026. Revenue for the month reached 401.26 billion Taiwanese dollars, equivalent to approximately $12.76 billion. This represents a 19.8% increase from December 2025 and a 36.8% rise compared to January of the previous year. Despite this impressive growth, the company plans to invest even more aggressively in expanding its capacity to meet rising demand from AI chip developers, smartphone manufacturers, and the automotive electronics sector.
The bulk of the new budget will be allocated to developing advanced process technologies. About 70–80% of the funds are slated for expanding production using current and next-generation nodes, while 10–20% will go toward advanced packaging and photomask production. The remaining funds will be directed to specialized areas, including silicon photonics and other promising technologies. The company also emphasizes that mature process nodes remain strategically important, as entire industries, particularly automotive, rely on them.
In a further sign of its ambitions, TSMC made a personnel change in its research division. S.S. Lin, who oversaw 1nm-class technologies and the A10 series, was promoted to vice president. This move suggests good progress in developing the A16 and A18 nodes and indicates the company's intention to accelerate their market launch.