TSMC is accelerating Arizona fab buildout to capitalize on AI demand: CFO
Wendell Huang, chief financial officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), during a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday, July 16, 2026.
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TSMC is racing to expand capacity at its Arizona factory and the company continues to see a “multi-year mega trend of demand” from its customers, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told CNBC.
TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. is expanding its mega-investment in Arizona, committing an additional $100 billion to aggressively expand its U.S. chip manufacturing footprint amid multi-year structural demand growth for AI.
The new commitment underscores a massive AI-focused capacity development that brings TSMC’s total investment pipeline in Arizona to $265 billion, which also fueled an upward revision of the company’s full-year capital expenditures to between $60 billion and $64 billion.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Emily Tan, TSMC’s Huang said the new investment comes on the back of strong customer demand in the US market and strong government support.
“We see this strong structure, many years of demand, and we don’t plan on leaving food on the table for anyone else,” Huang told CNBC. “As long as the megatrend is right, we can continue to deliver profitable growth for our shareholders,” he said.
increasing demand
To meet growing customer demand, TSMC is aggressively optimizing its cutting-edge capabilities, including the rapid conversion of its 5-nanometer capability to the advanced 3-nanometer node to support customers, Huang said.
The nanometer number refers to the size of each transistor on the chip. The smaller the transistor, the more transistors can be packed onto a single semiconductor. Typically, reducing nanometer size can produce more powerful and efficient chips.
As for TSMC’s US expansion, phase one using 4-nanometer technology is already up and running, the CFO told CNBC.
“It’s going to grow even more in the next few quarters,” Huang said, framing 2-nanometer technology as the company’s newest revenue driver heading into the third quarter, following initial revenue generation in the second quarter.
Factory construction costs in the United States are four to five times higher than in Taiwan; but Huang said that while the initial dilution may widen as the scale of overseas operations grows, the expansion will ultimately further spur the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem.
“There will be both front-end wafer factories and back-end advanced packaging factories,” Huang said about the rollout of the new $100 billion investment.
TSMC shares finished the day up more than 1% following the earnings release, but shares fell 7% on Friday. The stock is up nearly 48% year-to-date.
TSMC has been sharing posts since the beginning of the year.
Responding to the company’s share price performance, Huang said that TSMC does not have any control over the financial markets. “What we can do is really focus on the fundamentals of our business,” he said, adding that while the industry is facing major price increases on components, the company is seeing minimal impact due to its strategic focus on the high-end market.
TSMC manages its regulatory footprint as well as market factors. On China, Huang said TSMC continues to comply with all export controls while serving its Chinese customers, which account for about 8% of total revenue.
The chipmaker is expanding its focus towards future expansion drivers. Regarding the future of physical AI, he added that the company’s recent joint venture with Sony for image sensors is part of its strategic commitment to support long-term customer growth in proprietary technologies.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this story.
