C.C. Wei wants you to know something about succeeding in the chip business.
“There is no shortcut,” the Chairman and CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) told analysts during the company’s 2026 second-quarter earnings call. “Choosing a technology, ramping it up, is not buying milk from 7-Eleven.”
Clearly, it took more than mere milk money to mold TSMC into the world’s largest contract semiconductor foundry whose clients include the likes of Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), AMD (AMD), and Broadcom (AVGO).
Here’s a closer look at how the chipmaker got its start nearly four decades ago, and how it grew into the global technology leader it is today.
TSMC’s founding
TSMC’s journey began in 1987, when the company was formed as a joint venture between Taiwan’s government, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and private investors.
Veteran semiconductor executive Morris Chang founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in 1987 to pioneer the semiconductor industry’s first pure-play foundry model, manufacturing chips designed by other companies rather than competing with them.
The venture was backed by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and Philips (PHG), a Dutch electronics company that invested $58 million, transferred manufacturing technology, and licensed intellectual property in exchange for a 27.6% stake.
The company appointed veteran semiconductor executive James “Jim” Dykes as its first president and general manager.
TSMC’s early years
Drawing on his experience at General Electric (GE) and Philips, Dykes helped establish TSMC’s international operations and customer relationships, laying the foundation for its rise as the world’s leading contract chipmaker.
After Dykes departed in 1988, Chang assumed the additional role of president while continuing to serve as chairman.
“When I founded TSMC, I had a vision of a company that would be built to last. I wanted to create a company that would be a world-class technology leader and a trusted partner to our customers,” Chang said.
TSMC was listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 1994, and its American Depositary Shares debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 1997.
Leadership shuffle and the global financial crisis
Chang stepped down as CEO in 2005, when the company captured roughly half of the global semiconductor foundry market
He returned four years later at 78 years old to guide the company through the financial crisis and expand its technology and market focus. Chang stayed on as TSMC’s top executive until 2013 and gave up the chairman’s position five years later.
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In 2010, TSMC said it planned to raise its research and development spending by nearly 39% the following year to NT$50 billion, or about $1.63 billion at the time, as part of an effort to fend off growing competition from its peers.
In May 2014, TSMC’s board of directors approved capital appropriations of $568 million to increase and improve manufacturing capabilities after the company forecast higher-than-expected demand.
Three months later, the board approved additional capital appropriations of $3.05 billion.
TSMC in the modern day & beyond
TSMC controls roughly three-quarters of the global semiconductor foundry market and makes about 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips.
And the company, which makes sub-microscopic chips that power everything from smartphones and AI accelerators to cars and cloud servers, is planning to spend a lot more money in the months and years to come.
TSMC boosted its annual spending guidance by about $8 billion to a new range of $60 billion to $64 billion, CEO Wei said during the company’s 2026 Q2 earnings call, “given the continued strong structural demand from our customers, including the newly emerging agentic AI market.”
“With the strong collaboration and support from our leading U.S. customers and the U.S. federal, state, and city government, we would like to announce an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona,” he said.
Wei, who joined TSMC in 1998, said the company believes the investment “will help to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain, and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States.”
More tech company histories:
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TSMC is also building 13 leading-edge and advanced packaging fabs in Taiwan over the next several years, he said, “and we will continue to further invest in Taiwan.”
After the earnings report, investors were initially spooked by rising costs, and the company’s stock dropped despite another quarter of record financial results. Shares later recovered as investors refocused on the company’s AI-driven growth outlook.
TheStreet Pro’s take on TSMC stock
TSMC “has a commanding market share of the chip foundry business, 73% at last count, which has risen significantly, up from 54.6% in 2021,” said Alex Frew McMillan, global equities columnist for TheStreet Pro. “It moved early into an unsexy area of the semiconductor sector and has made it its own.”
He noted that with an increasing number of chips “in our laptops, fridges, cars and powering the AI in our phones, the demand shows no sign of waning.”
“Its current production capacity is 100% committed, i.e. pre-sold, so it is wisely investing to expand production in Phoenix, Germany and Japan, as well as at home in Taiwan, to meet that demand,” McMillan said.
TSMC’s stock, financials, and employee footprint
TSMC employs more than 90,000 people worldwide. The company has split its stock 10 times, most recently on July 15, 2009, and pays quarterly dividends.
In 2025, the company posted record revenue of $122.42 billion and net income of $55.21 billion, up 35.9% and 51.2%, respectively, from the previous year, driven by strong demand for AI and high-performance computing chips.
TSMC company timeline
Feb. 21, 1987: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is founded.
Feb 2., 1990: TSMC opens its first fully owned facility
Sept. 5, 1994: TSMC goes public on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Oct. 8, 1997: The company lists its American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange
June 30, 2000: TSMC completes its mergers with TSMC-Acer Manufacturing Corporation (TASMC) and Worldwide Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (WSMC).
July 1, 2005: Founder and CEO Morris Chang steps down, handing over the reins of the chief executive role to Chief Operating Officer Rick Tsai while remaining chairman.
June 12, 2009: Chang returns as CEO after the global financial crisis.
April 2018: TSMC begins large-scale volume production of its first-generation 7-nanometer (N7) process nodes.
June 5, 2018: Morris Chang retires for the last time, and C.C. Wei becomes CEO.
April 2021: The chipmaker begins construction on its first Arizona fabrication facility.
2024: TSMC starts high-volume production on the N4 process at TSMC Arizona in Q4.
2025: The company breaks ground on a third Arizona fab for its N2 and A16 tech.
Jan. 15, 2026: TSMC posts record revenue of $122.42 billion and net income of $55.21 billion for 2025.
July 2026: TSMC increases 2026 capital spending guidance to $60 billion–$64 billion and announces an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona to expand advanced chip manufacturing.
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