TL;DR: TMSC might reverse its choice to cost extra for its most superior silicon wafers. As the corporate faces an early 2023 income dip, it might attempt to lure extra chip producers onto its newest node processes with extra aggressive pricing.
Sources have advised MyDrivers that TSMC may decrease the costs of 3nm chips to entice extra manufacturing companions. The lower would apply to the entire firm’s 3nm processes, not simply the inaugural N3.
Final November, DigiTimes reported that TSMC deliberate to cost $20,000 per 3nm wafer – a 25 p.c hike over 5nm due to the intensive EUV lithography course of concerned in manufacturing. Apple accepted the worth improve to safe 3nm chips for its upcoming iPhone 15, nevertheless it appears different corporations like AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and MediaTek backed off in the interim. Apple is TSMC’s essential buyer for N3.
The Taiwan-based firm began mass-producing N3, its first 3nm course of node, on the finish of 2022. The extra secure and environment friendly N3E node is anticipated to observe later in 2023 and could also be inexpensive to provide. Which may allow TSMC to decrease costs, however they might additionally lower the worth of N3 in the event that they needed to drive bigger volumes.
AMD is anticipated to make use of a 3nm course of for its upcoming Zen 5 CPU structure, which first emerged in a Could 2021 leak. It is unclear when AMD would possibly formally unveil Zen 5. Nvidia may make the most of 3nm for its subsequent line of gaming GPUs – codenamed Blackwell – which might probably seem in 2024.
In the meantime, TSMC reported this week that its first-quarter 2023 earnings may fall by 5 p.c as the corporate begins to really feel the consequences of the worldwide financial downturn. Though the chip business’s broad reliance on TSMC helped its fourth-quarter 2022 earnings, lowering client demand is anticipated to impression the Taiwanese large all through the later a part of 2023, presumably leading to single-digit declines.
Nonetheless, TSMC is hoping for restoration with upcoming product launches just like the iPhone 15, which depends on its manufacturing, to offer a lift. TSMC may also lower spending on future growth plans. Final yr, the corporate diminished projected growth spending from $44 billion to $36 billion.