Over the years, TSMC has thrived through its partnership with Apple, becoming a key supplier of various chipsets for a range of Apple products. While TSMC’s financial success has largely been fueled by iPhone sales, there is a new contender in the race that might shake up the status quo. With the burgeoning demand for AI-related chips and applications gaining ground rapidly, NVIDIA is poised to challenge Apple’s dominance as TSMC’s top customer.
Traditionally, Apple has held the title of TSMC’s largest client, making up about 25.2% of the semiconductor giant’s revenues, as noted in a Bloomberg report. On the flip side, NVIDIA has historically contributed around 10.1%. However, industry experts from Citi Securities forecast a shift in these dynamics. They predict that NVIDIA could indeed surpass Apple as TSMC’s largest customer, driven by the surging AI sector demands.
Projections suggest NVIDIA might contribute to 20% of TSMC’s revenue by 2025. Despite these changes, Bloomberg’s earlier data still positions Apple as the leader. Nonetheless, in the world of percentages, when one company’s share increases, another’s may decrease, indicating a potential shift in market dynamics. Furthermore, the rise in demand for application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed for AI operations is expected to bolster TSMC’s revenue significantly in the coming years.
By 2025, most AI chips are projected to harness TSMC’s advanced 3nm processes, elevating the selling price of its wafers and consequently boosting profits by 2026. Even though Apple remains a pivotal client, benefiting from exclusive access to TSMC’s 2nm and 3nm technologies for its custom silicon, the tech landscape is evolving. NVIDIA, with its extensive client base and escalating order volumes, could potentially dethrone Apple as TSMC’s largest customer, marking a transformative era for the semiconductor industry.
