TSMC will continue to cooperate with Apple, Sony to contain Samsung

According to Korean media Business Korea, TSMC and Sony have jointly invested in establishing a fab in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and TSMC is expected to manufacture products for Sony, the leader in image sensors. Samsung Electronics also has image sensors as its core product, ranking second in this market. Therefore, Apple in the United States, Sony in Japan, and TSMC in Taiwan will establish a cooperative relationship in order to contain Samsung Electronics.

The report claims that Sony is a partner of Apple and makes the best image sensor in the world. TSMC's establishment of factories in Japan and the United States reflects the company's efforts to strengthen its alliance with the United States and Japan.

Some analysts believe that with the strengthening of the semiconductor alliance between the United States, Taiwan, and Japan, South Korea's position in the world's semiconductor industry is declining. Taiwan, China announced in 2021 that it will cooperate with the United States and Japan in the field of semiconductors. The United States and Japan also established a semiconductor technology alliance last year. At the same time, in order to restructure the semiconductor supply chain, the United States proposed the "Chip 4" alliance with South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, but South Korea did not show a positive attitude in this alliance.

Experts pointed out that South Korea's role in the semiconductor value chain composed of the United States, Taiwan, and Japan is not clear. The United States has advantages in semiconductor design, Japan in equipment, and Taiwan in China in high-tech foundry services, but South Korea has no advantages.