NVIDIA and AMD Choosing TSMC as Their Primary Foundry Partner Became One of the Biggest Bets They Ever Made, and It Redefined Dominance

NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang and AMD’s Lisa Su have recently spoken about how putting their trust in TSMC as a foundry partner was a bet that is now paying off.

NVIDIA/AMD Putting Their Trust in TSMC a Few Years Ago Was a Bet That Sounded Irrational Back Then

In the modern-day AI industry, chips are becoming a major bottleneck, mainly because the entire supply chain is constrained. But for TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, satisfying customer orders has become increasingly complex, and adding new clients, given the company’s tendency to show “loyalty” to existing clients like NVIDIA and AMD. If we define loyalty in a broader sense, it includes early access to production lines, faster delivery, and close collaboration in developing IP technology. TSMC’s behaviour towards customers isn’t defined solely by the revenue it brings in; rather, it is about the companies that were there before TSMC became mainstream.

There’s no doubt that TSMC values customer relations, and one of the prime examples of this is how the firm implements price hikes gradually and sustainably rather than aggressively. However, if we look at the company’s “humble origins”, you’ll realize that TSMC entered an era that was being dominated by the likes of Intel, Texas Instruments, NEC, and many others. Building the foundry from ground zero, led by Morris Chang and others, wasn’t easy, but throughout the journey, one will realize that TSMC has honored customers above all…