TSMC Breaks Ground On 1.4nm Mega-Fab Ahead Of Schedule, Stays Ahead Of Competition

Great news today for TSMC shareholders worldwide, and computing technology in general. The Taiwanese chip giant is reportedly ahead of schedule with its A14 semiconductor fabrication process, and is moving ahead the timeline for constructing its new chipmaking facilities at one of its multiple locations, this time Central Taiwan Science Park.

The revised timeline has TSMC finishing the location's water supply work in September, and set to break ground in October, with bidding for contracting about to begin. The plan is to build four buildings in the location. According to the report at Chinese website UDM Money, supply chain sources believe that, given TSMC's warp-speed progress on A14, this factory will start mass production in 2028. Additionally, the report states that two factories will be for A14, and the other two will eventually be for A10, the 10-Ångström or 1-nanometer process.

UDM indicates that TSMC's primary site for 1.4 nm production is the Taichung F25 plant, at a location that was formerly the Xingnong Stadium. The first factory there is expected to complete its risk production (trial run) by the end of 2027, and that mass production will kick off in 2028.


The site also claims that TSMC plans to install a pilot production line at Building 2 (Fab 2) at TSMC's Hsinchu Fab 20 location. The report states that said Fab 2 was originally planned for N2, but will undergo conversion to TSMC's A14 process. Fab 3 will be for the further-advanced A10 process, while Fab 4 will be dedicated to research and development for A7. To say that things are moving at a rapid pace is putting it mildly.

As UDM wisely points out, this power move of sorts is doubly impressive in the face of both Intel and Samsung being iffy about their own moves to 14A, or 1.4 nm processes. There are rumors that Intel might opt out of leading-edge foundries entirely if it can't find an external customer, while Samsung reportedly is focusing on expanding capacity on its existing 2 nm process rather than moving to 1.4 nm right away.

What all this means for us enthusiasts is that we're going to see denser, faster, and less-power-hungry chips far sooner than expected. Just as most folks would believe we were reaching an era of diminishing returns on chip technology, TSMC is powering ahead like a freight train, leaving nobody with room to complain.