Industry insiders have disclosed that TSMC has informed its customers that, effective from September, it will put into action a four - year consecutive price increase plan for its advanced processes of 5nm and below. This move has been dubbed by the industry as the "first long - term price hike in the AI era." Chip designers are of the opinion that TSMC's price adjustment could signal a gradual decrease in production capacity for mature processes of 7nm and above. Meanwhile, it is expected to bring benefits to sectors such as AI, server, and high - performance computing (HPC) applications. It's worth noting that TSMC's rare move of initiating four consecutive years of price hikes echoes MediaTek's statement made during its earnings call, where it said it would "adjust chip prices based on costs." This is anticipated to set off a new wave of chip price increases. TSMC has not issued any response to the rumors of price hikes. However, market research firms have pointed out that, due to factors like global inflation, TSMC's construction of overseas factories, and rising production costs, it is projected that starting from 2026, the prices of TSMC's advanced processes will go up by approximately 5 - 10% to sustain high gross margins.