At the 2023 TSMC Technology Symposium held on May 11, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei highlighted the importance of "trust" in his keynote speech.
Commenting on TSMC's rivals in the US and South Korea, namely Intel and Samsung, Wei pointed out that they can still thrive without contract manufacturing orders. In contrast, Wei emphasized that TSMC doesn't have its own products, and that it doesn't compete with its customers. "Will you give your product designs to companies that are also capable of designing?" Wei asked the audience. For TSMC to succeed, its customers have to succeed in the first place, Wei pointed out.
According to Wei, TSMC has shipped a total of 25 million wafers in 2022 and produced 2600 types of products for customers, with 400 types of new products on the way to volume production. He also acknowledged the growth opportunities brought by AI and 5G.
The TSMC leader further used the occasion to remark on the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war on the semiconductor supply chain, noting that the price of neon gas has soared six times for TSMC. However, he reassured that TSMC won't raise foundry prices as a result, and that the company is working hard on cost management.
