TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, currently has only one customer for its 3-nanometer "N3B" process - Apple. However, TSMC's revenue in this category may witness double-digit growth in 2024.
It is reported that the current price of each wafer produced by TSMC's 3-nanometer technology is $20000, while the yield rate is only 55%, and only large companies like Apple can afford such high prices.
However, market participants are optimistic that TSMC's leading manufacturing process, massive production capacity support, and improved yield will drive the company's performance to begin to rebound. In addition to mass producing wafers for chipset manufacturers, TSMC's 3-nanometer technology will also be used in other products, from Nvidia's GPU to artificial intelligence (AI) chips developed by giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
According to a research report cited by the Business Times, it is expected that TSMC's 3-nanometer OEM production capacity is expected to reach 60000 to 70000 pieces by the end of this year, and the annual revenue share is expected to exceed 5%.
In addition, the report also points out that with multiple companies such as NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and MediaTek introducing the second generation N3E in the second half of 2024, it is estimated that TSMC's monthly production capacity will reach 100000 units by the end of 2024.
This manufacturing process is expected to receive demand support for a long time. It is estimated that in 2023 alone, orders for A17 Pro and M3 chips from Apple will generate $3.1 billion in revenue for the company.
According to analysis, Qualcomm and MediaTek expect to adopt the N3E process on their flagship mobile SOC (system level chip) next year, namely Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Dimensity 9400, which will further enhance TSMC's revenue.
Recently, there were reports that TSMC is considering building a third chip factory in Japan, which seems to be fully entering the 3-nanometer chip market.