TSMC has unveiled its newest semiconductor process, the A16. At a conference in California, TSMC said the process will be used for ultra-advanced 1.6-nanometer chips as early as 2026. The announcement is a direct challenge to rival Intel, over who can make the world’s fastest chips.

The headline on Reuters says it all. At the 2024 North America Technology Symposium in Santa Clara, TSMC unveiled its A16 semiconductor process. It will be used to produce 1.6-nanometer chips as early as 2026.

Nobunaga Chai
Semiconductor industry expert
TSMC’s advanced process will integrate technology from the 2-nanometer process. The A16 process will offer an upgrade on backside power delivery, and feature super power rail architecture. That is to say, the power delivery network will be placed on the backside of the chip, separate from the signal component. That allows for a higher density of signal interconnects.

The A16 technology puts TSMC one step ahead of competitors such as Intel and Samsung. The process will improve speed, energy efficiency, and logic density, positioning TSMC to meet AI demands. But the good news failed to sway investors in the stock market. TSMC shares closed down NT$17 on Thursday, to end at NT$766.

Lin Han-wei
Analyst
After all, the process will only start commercial production in 2026. So the discussions about this chip technology at the tech symposium were more about the future, more about a direction for TSMC’s technological development. Regarding the impact on TSMC’s performance, currently it seems that manufacturing in advanced processes has already hit full capacity. So it’s challenging for the new chip technology to significantly lift financial growth prospects.

Dragged by heavyweight stocks, the Taiex Iost 274 points, falling back below the 20,000-point mark. Whether the index will regain the threshold remains to be seen.

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