TSMC to build another 3nm fab in Tainan
TSMC plans to build a new 3nm fab in Tainan, with production slated to start in the first half of 2028. The company is also moving some 5nm capacity over to 3nm as demand for its leading-edge processes continues to grow.
TSMC announced the new fab at its investor briefing on 15 October, according to Taiwan News, citing the Central News Agency (CNA). Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said the company expects strong demand for 3nm chips for years to come.
The Tainan fab joins another 3nm fab already under construction at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, which is expected to begin mass production in the first half of 2027.
Some of that 3nm expansion is also overseas. Wei said TSMC’s 3nm fab in Arizona is ahead of schedule. Equipment is now being installed, and production is set to start in the third quarter of 2027. The company’s second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, will also use a 3nm process and is expected to begin mass production in 2028.
To support 3nm demand in the meantime, TSMC is moving some 5nm capacity over to 3nm and optimising capacity across its 7nm, 5nm and 3nm processes, according to the Liberty Times.
According to a press release from the Tainan city government, TSMC has completed 20 wafer fabs and packaging and testing facilities in the city since it first entered the Southern Taiwan Science Park. Its investments in Tainan exceed TWD 1.86 trillion (about USD 57 billion) and have created more than 11,300 direct jobs. TSMC has also started building a 2nm fab on city-owned land in Anding District, the first time the company has built on land owned by a local government.
Neither TSMC nor the city has disclosed the investment size or capacity of the new 3nm fab.
