Technology media "Wccftech" quoted sources as reporting that TSMC's 2-nanometer (N2) process, which is about to be mass-produced, may increase in price by 50%, mainly related to "semiconductor inflation". This prompted TSMC's ADR to close up more than 3% on the 23rd. However, the industry raised two questions and believed that it was "fake news."

Regarding the issue of 2nm price increase, TSMC responded yesterday (24th), "We will not comment on the price issue. TSMC's pricing strategy has always been strategy-oriented, not opportunity-oriented. We will continue to work closely with customers to provide value." The outside world interpreted TSMC's response as breaking the market's imagination of making money from opportunities.

"Wccftech" revealed that TSMC's capital expenditure for advanced processes is huge. In order to maintain investment returns and process yields, it may have to adopt strong pricing to cope with "semiconductor inflation." TSMC's ADR rose sharply on the 23rd, rising by more than 4% during the session and closing up 3.7%. It also inspired Taiwan's common stock to open higher yesterday, reaching a high of 1,355 yuan at one point. However, the market "felt more wrong", and selling pressure surged during the session. The stock price once turned negative and closed flat at 1,340 yuan. TSMC's ADR also faced profit-taking selling pressure in the early trading on the 24th, falling by about 1%.

The industry believes that rumors of a 50% price increase for TSMC's 2nm process are highly suspicious on two grounds. First, 2nm hasn't even reached production yet, so where does the base price for the price increase come from? Second, TSMC is unlikely to commit to such an outrageous 50% price increase unless it's capitalizing on opportunities.

Regarding the mass production of 2nm technology, TSMC previously stated at an earnings conference that its 2nm and A16 technologies are leading the industry in addressing the insatiable demand for energy-efficient computing, and that nearly all relevant innovators are collaborating with TSMC.

Driven by smartphones and high-speed computing applications, TSMC expects the number of product design wins for 2nm technology in its first two years to exceed that of 3nm and 5nm in the same period.

TSMC emphasizes that the 2nm process technology offers generational performance and power efficiency advantages. Compared to N3E, it offers a 10% to 15% speed increase at the same power consumption, or a 25% to 30% power reduction at the same speed, while also increasing chip density by more than 15%.

According to TSMC's schedule, 2nm will enter mass production in the second half of 2025, with a production curve similar to that of 3nm. As part of its ongoing enhancement strategy, TSMC has also introduced the N2P process technology, an extension of the 2nm family. This technology offers improved performance and power efficiency, supporting high-speed computing applications in smartphones. Mass production is expected in the second half of 2026.

Source: Content from Economic Daily

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