TSMC 2nm Prices May Rise 6%–8% Again

According to South Korean media outlet Digital Daily, TSMC is reportedly considering another increase in wafer prices for advanced process nodes. Industry sources said that rising manufacturing and electricity costs could push prices for leading-edge processes such as 2nm wafers up by approximately 6% to 8% in the first quarter of 2027.

Earlier reports indicated that TSMC had already raised 2027 wafer fabrication prices for some customers, with increases of up to around 10%. Reuters previously cited people familiar with the matter as saying that TSMC planned to raise chip manufacturing prices starting in 2027, with the maximum increase expected to be about 10%. The move was reportedly linked to higher material and equipment costs as well as investments in overseas manufacturing facilities. TSMC did not confirm a specific price increase at the time.

Against a backdrop of continued strong demand for advanced process technologies, TSMC is raising prices while accelerating its 2nm capacity expansion. Industry sources said that several major customers, including Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, and MediaTek, have recently increased their orders for TSMC's 2nm process family by approximately 10% to 20%. Other reports suggest that TSMC's monthly 2nm production capacity could reach around 120,000 wafers by the end of 2026, exceeding previous market expectations.

TSMC is currently advancing the construction and expansion of several 2nm wafer fabrication facilities, including capacity in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung. The company previously estimated that its 2nm production capacity would achieve a compound annual growth rate of approximately 70% from 2026 to 2028. As demand for AI chips continues to rise, major chip companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm are maintaining strong demand for advanced process capacity. This is also strengthening TSMC's pricing power in the leading-edge semiconductor market.

For chip design companies, however, higher advanced-node prices and tighter capacity could increase the importance of supply chain diversification. This situation may create additional opportunities for Samsung Electronics' foundry business.

Samsung is currently developing its second-generation 2nm process, SF2P. If Samsung can further improve yield rates and demonstrate stable high-volume manufacturing, it could compete for some advanced-node orders that currently rely on TSMC, particularly by offering advantages in cost and production capacity. Previous market reports have suggested that Samsung could gain more opportunities in advanced-process orders as TSMC prepares to increase foundry prices from 2027.

Nevertheless, TSMC continues to hold a dominant position in the advanced-node foundry market. Samsung's ability to secure more high-end orders will depend on several factors, including 2nm yield rates, performance, production costs, and supply stability.

TSMC's 2nm capacity expansion could also have broader implications for the AI semiconductor supply chain. As companies such as NVIDIA continue to develop next-generation AI accelerators, rising demand for advanced-node chips could further increase demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM). SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are both actively developing next-generation HBM products, including HBM4. If AI accelerator shipments continue to grow, demand for HBM4 could also increase, creating additional growth opportunities for Korean memory manufacturers.

At the same time, higher advanced-node wafer prices could increase the cost of finished products. For smartphone and PC manufacturers, rising prices for advanced-node mobile application processors and other key chips could increase overall system costs and potentially put pressure on product margins.

In addition, if the proportion of AI data center capital expenditure allocated to high-performance computing chips continues to increase, cloud service providers could face tighter procurement budgets for general-purpose servers, DDR5 DRAM, enterprise SSDs, and other components.