What is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's strategic advantage?

TSMC leverages conservative guidance to exceed expectations, monopolizes sub-7nm chip production, and benefits from AI-driven demand, creating strong pricing power.

How is TSMC benefiting from AI?

AI demand transforms semiconductor cycles into predictable, high-commitment revenue streams, with customers pre-paying for compute growth, reinforcing TSMC's leverage.

Why is TSMC considered a semiconductor monopoly?

TSMC effectively controls sub-7nm chip production and advanced packaging, giving it unparalleled pricing power and customer lock-ins, akin to a monopoly infrastructure provider.

Home / Business and Economy / TSMC: The Chip Monopoly Quietly Dominating AI

TSMC: The Chip Monopoly Quietly Dominating AI

6 Dec, 2025

•

Summary

TSMC effectively monopolizes sub-7nm chip production, commanding premium prices.
AI demand and packaging constraints create predictable, high-commitment revenue streams.
The company strategically guides conservatively, yet consistently beats expectations.

TSMC: The Chip Monopoly Quietly Dominating AI

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is strategically positioned as a dominant, near-monopolistic infrastructure provider in the semiconductor industry. The company has mastered the art of conservative guidance, consistently sandbagging expectations only to exceed them, thereby reinforcing market trust and masking its true market dominance. Major clients like Apple and Nvidia are securing years of capacity at premium rates, underscoring TSMC's unparalleled pricing power.

Driven by the insatiable demand for artificial intelligence, traditional semiconductor cycles have evolved into predictable, high-commitment revenue streams. Customers are pre-paying for exponential compute growth, which further strengthens TSMC's leverage and supports sustained price increases per wafer. Constraints in advanced packaging, such as CoWoS, exacerbate scarcity, compelling long-term customer commitments and deepening their reliance on TSMC's services.