MONSTROUS MONTH FROM TAIWANESE SERVER ODM'S📈📈
$34.7B, ATH+117% YoY+27% MoM+80% YTDSource: Chips & Wafers
AI Gossip
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Shortages continue for TSMC’s top production processes, 3nm and 2nm, and CoWoS advanced packaging, media report, mostly locked up by Nvidia and Apple. Amazon AWS has won more 3nm capacity recently, while MediaTek continues to seek more 2nm/3nm capacity and CoWoS-S/L packaging for smartphone chips and Google TPUs.
MediaTek is said to be on the short end of capacity allocation from TSMC due to Google’s TPU v9, which will split packaging orders between TSMC's CoWoS-L and Intel's EMIB-T. The MediaTek-assisted 3nm TPU v8t is to enter mass production in the 4th quarter and scale up further in 2027AWS continues to scale up orders for next-gen chips, boosted by partnerships with Alchip, Marvell, Qualcomm.Apple is now TSMC’s chief 2nm customer, for A20 Pro chips used in premium iPhones. Nvidia is the primary 3nm client.TSMC’s 2nm capacity will hit 100,000 wafers-per-month (wpm) by late October, with 50,000 each at Fab 20 in Hsinchu and Fab 22 in Kaohsiung.3nm capacity will reach 185,000wpm by late October.Overflow orders for advanced packaging are mostly expected to go to SiliconWare Precision, part of the ASE Group $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $Alphabet(GOOGL.US) $Amazon(AMZN.US) $NVIDIA(NVDA.US) $Apple(AAPL.US) $Advanced Semiconductor Engineering(ASX.US)Source: Dan Nystedt
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An executive from Murata Manufacturing, the world’s biggest maker of MLCCs (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors), said demand growth for MLCCs used in AI servers will continue at least through 2028, media report, adding Murata plans to invest ¥80 billion (US$520 million) over 2-years to expand MLCC capacity by more than 20%. The company is also reviewing a more aggressive 2nd wave of expansion, including larger plants in Japan and overseas.
Source: Dan Nystedt
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TSMC could create a new “Moore’s Law for CPO,” doubling bandwidth every two years as it accelerates the rollout of co-packaged optics (CPO) to meet the soaring bandwidth requirements of AI data centers, according to a media report.
TSMC will focus on three areas to scale CPO:• Per-lane speed: Increase single-channel speeds from 200G today to 400G and beyond• Optical channel density: Expand channel counts from 16 today to 32, then 64 and beyond• WDM (wavelength-division multiplexing): Enable each optical fiber to carry more wavelengths simultaneouslyThe report forecasts that doubling bandwidth every two years could take CPO bandwidth from a 3.2T baseline today to around 410T by 2040 – 128x higher. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)Source: Dan Nystedt
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Failure to comply with US regulations could see Taiwan firms banned from its supply chains over China-made components, a problem that recently put Unimicron at the center of a Taiwan investigation, media report. The tech giant has been accused of putting ‘Made-in-Taiwan’ labels on some printed circuit boards from its China factories. Taiwan firms have long had supply chains in China, but US tariffs and supply chain regulations have caused changes. The report says Taiwan customs caught 428 violations of the rules as of the end of August, up from 168 at the same time last year, a big increase but mainly due to stricter enforcement.
Source: Dan Nystedt
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TSMC 2nm and 3nm capacity expansion shows why revenue will hit new record highs in 2027, media report:
- 2nm capacity to rise 22% to 110,000 wafers per month (wpm) by mid-2027, from 90,000 at end-2026- 3nm capacity will rise ~70% to 210,000wpm by mid-2027 vs end-2025: 2026-end: 180,000wpm 2025-end: 120,000 – 130,000wpm$Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $NVIDIA(NVDA.US) $Alphabet(GOOGL.US) $Apple(AAPL.US) #semiconductorsSource: Dan Nystedt
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TSMC’s fabs in the Nanzih District of Kaohsiung City turned the area into one of the hottest property markets in Taiwan, but worries surfaced after no new residential building projects were launched during the “928” sales season, media report, noting that over the past 2-years, the value of new projects exceeded NT$10 billion. Builders are holding off on new projects as they sell existing inventory, while media note purchases have fallen 90% in 2026 to 197 presale homes, from a 2024 peak of 2,098. Prices continue to hold up, for now. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be the first products in the hands of consumers with chips made on TSMC’s 2nm process inside, media report, adding Apple’s A20 Pro chip went into mass production in early 2026. Apple has been first to market with chips made by the latest TSMC technology for at least a decade. $Apple(AAPL.US) $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #iPhone18Pro #A20Pro
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Google recovers its costs on TPUs in 1-year, while its overall payback period for AI servers is 2-years, media report, citing Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, and adding that Google TPUs have found new customers across financial, biotech, government and scientific sectors in addition to AI labs. TPU strength is a boon to Broadcom and MediaTek, which both see their competition for Google’s chip design business as big enough for everyone to keep growing, even if new design rivals enter the market. $Broadcom(AVGO.US) $Alphabet(GOOGL.US) $NVIDIA(NVDA.US) #mediatek #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
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The global IC substrate market will rise 32.3% year-on-year to US$19.51 billion in 2026 due to strong AI-related demand, media report, citing the Taiwan Printed Circuit Board Association. Last year, the market rose 18.5% to $14.75 billion, led by ABF substrates, vital for the GPUs inside AI servers, at $7.72 billion and BT substrates at $7.03 billion. #semiconductors #substrates
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Amazon and Taiwan’s Wiwynn will invest US$1.6 billion to expand Wiwynn’s AI server plant in Texas to strengthen its supply chain and boost AI server output, media report. The US will account for 20% of Wiwynn’s global output next year, compared to current capacity: 70% in Mexico, 20% in Malaysia and 10% in Europe.
Wiwynn plans to spend US$942 million (NT$29.8B) in the 2nd half of 2026 on capex, up from NT$12.1 billion in the 1st half of the year, CFO Harry Chen said. Capex will be even higher next year, with new facilities planned for Taiwan and Malaysia. $Amazon(AMZN.US) $Alphabet(GOOGL.US) $Meta Platforms(META.US) $Microsoft(MSFT.US) #serverSource: Dan Nystedt
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Japan’s Murata plans to end production of certain MLCC (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor) products for consumer, industrial and automotive products to focus on high-end markets like AI servers and advanced automotive electronics, media report, adding that customers will likely shift orders to other MLCC makers, like Taiwan’s Yageo, Walsin Tech, Holy Stone, Prosperity Dialectrics and others. Murate is the world’s biggest maker of MLCCs, parts used in all electronics to stabilize the flow of electricity.
Source: Dan Nystedt
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MediaTek’s monthly revenue soared to a record high NT$64.2 billion (US$2.01B) in August, up 30.4% over July and 44.1% versus the same time last year, boosted by its custom ASIC chip design business and high-end smartphone chip sales, media report.
2nd best month: 2026 March NT$63.2 billion3rd: 2022 March NT$59.2 billion #semiconductors #mediatekSource: Dan Nystedt
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Amkor raised its Arizona advanced packaging plant investment to $12 billion from $7 billion earlier, and $2 billion originally – a sign of how much demand has grown in a short time. Amkor said it already has customer commitments for the first phase of the plant, 33,000 sq. meters of space, and the new expansion will raise the total to 93,000 sq. meters. Construction of phase 2 of the plant is to start in late 2027 and finish by end-2029. $Amkor Tech(AMKR.US) #Arizona #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Taiwan media have misinterpreted a speech by President Trump to mean big new tariffs are coming for semiconductors. They aren't.
His numbers were rhetorical – arguing what past presidents should have done, not a warning of what he's planning. He also indicated the tariffs had do to with Intel, which had "lost its way" and asked him for help, and framed the 10% stock deal as protection money.Here’s the text, and a link to the speech below:President Trump: "Intel. Intel is a good, really good company. But what happened is, stupid presidents allowed the chip business to leave our country and go to Taiwan. And, stupid. All they had to do is put tariffs on they wouldn't have left. In other words, Taiwan, if you're going to sell chips to America, you're going to got to pay 100%, got to pay 200%, 50%, anything and you wouldn't have had— But they didn't do that until I came along. And what happened is Intel became old and tired and got in trouble. And they came to see me. The head of Intel was a nice man actually, and he said, “Sir, I need your help.” And he said why, whatever it was. And I said, “Well, you came to the right place. I’m the only one that can help you…I said, here’s the deal. Give the United States of America 10% of Intel." Now, the thing was worth like $120 billion. You know, it lost its way, but it’s still worth a lot of money. I said, “Give the United States of America 10% of Intel and I’ll get this problem solved." He stood up immediately and said, “You have a deal.” And I said, “I should have asked for more.” [51:13]Source: Dan Nystedt
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$Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) August revenue hits another ATH:
+44% YoY+11% MoMSource: Chips & Wafers
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TSMC’s revenue rose 53.3% year-on-year in August to a fresh record high NT$514.81 billion (US$16.09B), the 4th consecutive monthly high amid robust global AI-related demand.
The previous record was NT$467.58 billion in July.TSMC did not provide a US$ figure. The figure is based on its forex guidance for the 3rd quarter. 1/3 $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $Apple(AAPL.US) $NVIDIA(NVDA.US) $AMD(AMD.US) $Broadcom(AVGO.US) $Qualcomm(QCOM.US) #semiconductors #semiconductorSource: Dan Nystedt
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TSMC Aug 2026
- $16.079B in USD, +10.8% M/M and +44.3% Y/Y; First $16B month; Strongest August M/M since 2022- Sixth consecutive monthly ATH, seventh in eight months in ‘26- 32 consecutive months of Y/Y growth; August annualized run-rate is $193B- The first 8 months of 26 $106.7B, +37.1%; Sep-Dec needs $64.7B (+45% Y/Y) to hit at least 40% y/y growth in CY26-+$1.566B, the second-largest ATH increment ever and 2x of June's +$769M- Jul+Aug $30.6B is already 92.5% of the entire 3Q25 ($33.1B) and > all of 2Q25 ($30.2B)Source: Sravan Kundojjala
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TSMC may be in 1.4nm mass production by end-2027, a year earlier than planned, media report, adding the chip giant could begin commissioning equipment by April. Construction on its 1.4nm fab cluster near Taichung, central Taiwan, is in full acceleration mode, with the steel framework on the first fab (P1) already done. TSMC has applied to the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) to build 2 temporary offices at the site, a sign production will begin early, the report says. Concrete is being poured for the 2nd fab at the site (P2), and construction could be done by October-2027. A building permit for the 3rd fab has already been granted, and TSMC has applied for a 4th fab there as well. The four fabs are expected to require 9,000 – 10,000 workers and annual output valued exceeding NT$500 billion (US$15.9B). $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Wistron, the AI server giant, said August revenue rose 166.5% year-on-year to NT$460.1 billion on increased customer demand, a record high for a single month, media report, adding Jan-Aug revenue rose 99.0% to NT$2.51 trillion, already beating full-year 2025.
The company’s board approved US$224 million in additional spending to expand capacity and after-sales service, including $146 million in Westport, Texas and $59.05 million for a plant in Vietnam.Source: Dan Nystedt
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The scramble for mature-node chips is locked in through at least 2028, with some analysts warning tight supplies could stretch to 2030, media report. The AI-related demand surge caused the main issue, alongside rising consumer device silicon content. Supply chain management is everything as firms seek to secure capacity, seeking deals based on volume-based pricing.
Source: Dan Nystedt
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MPI ($6223.TW) August Revenue ATH.
+60% YoY +14% MoM来源: Chips & Wafers
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Google has made some “adjustments” in Taiwan but denied rumors alleging 30% to 50% of staff – including senior personnel – had been let go, media report, adding Google Taiwan continues to hire and recently added 60% more office space to its R&D Center in Taipei. $Alphabet(GOOGL.US)
Source: Dan Nystedt
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MPI Corp., the Taiwan maker of probe cards for semiconductor testing, won Samsung Electronics as a new client for cards used with silicon photonics (Photonic IC wafers), media report, noting MPI’s top customer is TSMC. Samsung will also use probe cards from FormFactor, the US firm. Specialized probe cards are used to separate good chips from bad. They test whether optical chips can convert electrical and optical signals properly, according to design. $Formfactor(FORM.US) #MPI
Source: Dan Nystedt
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Co-packaged optics (CPO) has officially entered the mass-production deployment stage, but the critical testing processes responsible for safeguarding yield continue to face different challenges across Insertion 1 through Insertion 4.
Supply chain sources noted that conventional semiconductor electrical testing is typically measured in seconds. By comparison, Insertion 1 testing of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can take more than 10 minutes for a single die. With a testing system costing millions of US dollars, the resulting testing costs remain too high to deliver sufficient commercial value for volume production.A similar challenge exists at Insertion 2, which tests electronic-photonic integrated circuits (EPICs). Because the electronic IC (EIC) and PIC are integrated through hybrid bonding, creating an architecture with electrical circuitry above and photonics below, testing is constrained by limited industry experience in simultaneously testing both the electrical and optical sides. Wafer warpage presents another challenge, with testing times in some cases extending to as long as 30 minutes.Source: Chips & Wafers