On September 2, Hou Yongqing, co-COO of TSMC, disclosed that the company is significantly ramping up production capacity to meet surging artificial intelligence demands. Since the end of last year, TSMC’s demand for chip manufacturing equipment has nearly doubled. The company has raised its quarterly equipment procurement estimates to roughly 1.9 times the forecast made in December of the previous year. This surge reflects strong demand from AI developers, further propelled by the large-scale expansion of global data centers, which is driving chip demand to new heights.

Currently, TSMC is grappling with a shortage of experienced construction workers. Despite this challenge, the company still plans to construct and outfit approximately 20 factories in Taiwan and overseas—an expansion effort of unprecedented scale. Traditionally, TSMC has advanced construction on 4 to 5 new plants simultaneously. However, Hou Yongqing remarked, “We are now operating at nearly 4 to 5 times the previous pace, yet still unable to meet demand.”