TSMC raises the bar with record capital spending

Taiwan's TSMC has announced the largest annual capital spending budget of any company in the history of the semiconductor industry.

The world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) foundry and semiconductor contract manufacturer plans to spend US$44 billion in 2022 to upgrade and expand its production capacity. That’s an increase of one-third or more from the $30 billion spent last year.

It also far exceeds the $32 billion and $28 billion that South Korea's Samsung and America's Intel are respectively expected to invest this year – although these numbers could change – and will take TSMC more than 70% of the way to implementing the $100 billion, three-year capital spending plan it announced last March.