HSINCHU — Most of the world’s most advanced chips are made in Taiwan, by companies that build chips designed by others. The model began with a government research institute and a science park in Hsinchu, which opened in 1980, according to the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau.
- 1973The Industrial Technology Research Institute is founded.
- 1980Hsinchu Science Park opens.
- 1987TSMC is founded as the first dedicated contract chipmaker.
- 2020TSMC begins volume production at 5 nanometres.
- 2022Volume production begins at 3 nanometres.
A “foundry” makes chips for other companies, which design them but own no factories. TSMC, founded in 1987, was the first company built only to do that. The model let chip designers around the world grow without building plants that now cost tens of billions of dollars each.
3 nmthe process TSMC began producing in volume in 2022
