TSMC Eyes Price Hike, Rejects Short-Term Gains

According to multiple reports, the rapid surge in artificial intelligence (AI) demand is tightening global supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), placing semiconductor supply chain constraints back into focus. The situation comes as Jensen Huang of NVIDIA is scheduled to visit South Korea on June 5 to meet major memory manufacturers, underscoring the strategic importance of memory capacity in the AI era.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei commented on June 4 that the growing AI ecosystem requires massive amounts of memory, making Huang’s visit to South Korea unsurprising given the country’s dominant position in global memory production.

Wei noted that memory manufacturers are currently benefiting from the AI boom, with profit margins reportedly reaching exceptionally high levels. While acknowledging the strong pricing environment, he remarked that TSMC is also considering price adjustments, though it would not follow the extreme and sudden price increases seen in the memory sector. He emphasized that long-term competitiveness depends less on short-term margins and more on maintaining technological leadership, customer trust, and a stable profitability model.

Addressing Huang’s upcoming meetings in South Korea, Wei highlighted that AI development fundamentally depends on two critical elements: power supply and semiconductors. These include logic chips, memory, advanced packaging, testing, thermal management, and full system integration. He stressed that the current challenge is not limited to the capacity of a single company, but rather reflects pressure across the entire supply chain as demand scales rapidly.

Wei also pointed out that while Taiwan maintains a strong advantage in the AI semiconductor ecosystem, there is no expectation that competitors will close the gap within just a few years. He emphasized that real competitiveness comes from the accumulated strength of the entire supply chain rather than isolated capabilities.

Responding to shareholder suggestions that wafer pricing should better reflect rising energy, water, and operational costs, Wei said TSMC is actively working on pricing strategies that align value with cost structures. He added that any adjustments must balance fair value realization with long-term customer partnerships, rather than focusing solely on maximizing short-term profit.