TSMC has quickly become one of the most important companies powering the global AI boom, and its growing influence is starting to reshape the tech industry’s pecking order. As demand for cutting-edge chips surges, the Taiwanese semiconductor giant is reportedly moving to build three new 2nm chip facilities in Taiwan, an aggressive expansion that signals one thing loud and clear: the world’s appetite for advanced manufacturing capacity is outpacing supply.
That capacity crunch is a major reason why TSMC’s role could become even bigger over the next few years. While many of the world’s best-known technology brands design their own processors, they still rely on TSMC to actually manufacture them at the most advanced nodes. With AI chips, next-generation smartphones, and data center processors all chasing the same limited production lines, the company’s leverage and long-term value may keep climbing.
One senior analyst, Keithen Drury, believes that TSMC’s market value could potentially surpass Apple’s by 2030. The argument isn’t that Apple is suddenly weak, but that its growth has slowed as the consumer electronics market shows signs of saturation. Drury points out that Apple’s revenue growth has been notably soft, with only one quarter since mid-2022 delivering double-digit growth. In his view, Apple’s core business doesn’t have enough momentum right now to put it in the same growth category as the semiconductor manufacturing leader that nearly every major company depends on for AI-era chips.
Meanwhile, TSMC’s roadmap is moving fast. Industry expectations suggest that its 3nm capacity could be close to fully utilized by 2026, as demand continues to intensify. This period has even been described as a “golden age” for semiconductor manufacturing, with estimates that TSMC could reach monthly production of around 160,000 wafers by the end of 2025.
The push into 2nm looks even more intense. Two of TSMC’s 2nm facilities in Taiwan are reportedly already sold out in terms of capacity allocation, highlighting how far in advance leading customers are trying to secure supply. Production is expected to ramp substantially, with output projected to reach 100,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026.
And TSMC isn’t stopping there. The company is also said to be preparing a massive $49 billion investment tied to 1.4nm wafer production, marking the start of its next-generation manufacturing push for a broad range of customers. If these plans materialize as expected, it reinforces the idea that TSMC will remain the dominant force in the foundry business for years—especially as the race to build faster, more efficient AI chips accelerates.
Today, TSMC sits at an estimated market value of about $1.4 trillion, while Apple remains the world’s most valuable company at roughly $4 trillion. Still, Drury suggests TSMC has a realistic path to becoming the second-largest—and possibly even the largest—company by 2030, depending on how the AI data center market develops.
There is an important caveat: these projections depend on high-growth assumptions that may not fully play out. But if AI data centers expand as widely as many expect, TSMC’s position at the center of advanced chip manufacturing could make it one of the biggest winners of the next decade.
