Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), Fab 5 building, Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan Credit: Peellden, Creative Commons
Semiconductor chips power just about every electronic device we use these days, from our phones to our laptops to our smart doorbells and house locks. But despite their ubiquity, making these chips is a complicated and hugely expensive process, dominated by a small number of manufacturing powerhouses.
This week, we’re looking at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, one of the world’s leading semiconductor fabrication companies, to get a better sense of the industry and how it operates. The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Taiwan Stock Exchange, currently has 12 “fabs” (fabrication plants — aka, factories or foundries) around the world, with nine in Taiwan, one in the U.S. (in Washington state), and two in China.
The “Purest” Player
Though giants Intel and Samsung lead global semiconductor sales, TSMC ranks #1 among “pure-play” companies, which means it manufactures chips for others rather than designi
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