Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) briefly hit a $1 trillion market capitalization following the AI demand. This milestone was achieved on June 20, fleeting past Berkshire Hathaway and ranking eighth among the most valuable companies in the world. Reports claim it is the first Asian company to reach a valuation.

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TSMC’s ascent is driven by its extensive portfolio of tech and manufacturing giants that rely on its semiconductor production. TSMC is currently the largest contract chip maker globally, with the biggest clients including Apple, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. 

TSMC’s fabrication capacity outshines competitors

Apple is the largest customer of TSMC accounting for around a fifth of its total revenue because TSMC chips are integrated into iPhones. This has given TSMC a very close relationship with Apple, which has, in turn, improved its market standing. 

The company’s fabrication capacity distinguishes it from its global counterparts. Firms such as AMD, Intel, and Nvidia also manufacture some of their chips from TSMC. TSMC is also the market leader in the cryptocurrency mining sector, supplying chips for the majority of miners, including Bitmain Antminer models widely used in China.  In China, 98% of Bitcoin mining rigs feature TSMC semiconductors, and Samsung has also leveraged TSMC’s chips for its mining operations.

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Despite its brief surge to over $1 trillion in market capitalization, TSMC’s value settled at $859.69 billion at the time of publication. This adjustment placed it behind Berkshire Hathaway but ahead of Eli Lilly and Tesla, securing the ninth spot on the global leaderboard. Broadcom, another chipmaker that outsources fabrication to TSMC, holds the 12th position with a market capitalization of $732.4 billion.

Semiconductor demand propels TSMC

Currently, Nvidia’s market capitalization stands at $2.9 trillion, making it the third most valuable chipmaker. Because TSMC occupies a certain niche in the semiconductor products market, it can enjoy the fruits of its rivals’ success. The company’s future depends on the results of large customers such as Apple and Nvidia. This means that as the demand for iPhones and Nvidia GPUs increases, so does the requirement for semiconductors from TSMC. 

 TSMC’s ability to meet the expected growth of  AI technology positions it well for continued success. The company could potentially overtake Meta (formerly Facebook) and join the elite club of the world’s most valuable companies.