The CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. says the surging demand for artificial intelligence chips is creating new problems for the semiconductor industry that must be solved.
"We have to give the industry enough capacity to meet [AI] demand, and we also have to work together on cost," Dr. C.C. Wei, TSMC's chief executive, said Thursday at the company's 2023 Supply Chain Management Forum. "We have to develop technology that not only delivers performance but efficiently controls power."
The executive was unclear whether the rise in AI power demand would be primarily driven by the number of units sold or the increasing power requirements for future AI chips. Either way, it suggests robust growth for AI semiconductors.
"Reducing power consumption is becoming more important as AI power demand could easily triple in two years," he added.
Wei also noted AI could help doctors do their jobs better, improve auto safety, and help society lower resource consumption.
TSMC dominates the market for high-end chips. It is the main supplier for making AI chips for Nvidia, which leads the market for semiconductors used for AI applications.
The company also makes the core processors inside Apple iPhones, Qualcomm mobile chipsets, and processors made by Advanced Micro Devices. According to TrendForce, TSMC has about 56% of the market share of the third-party chip-manufacturing business, followed by Samsung with 12%.
Despite the coming challenges in making AI chips, the TSMC CEO is optimistic his company and supplier partners will achieve their goals.
"2024 is a year with uncertainty as inflation remains high. The cost of everything is increasing due to some external factors," Wei said. "By working together, I know that we can make it."
