SemiAnalysis uploaded a detailed report debating that the partnership with TSMC and Apple made the leading-edge foundry model, but AI computing is skyrocketing and changing the roles of who funds new technologies for the chip, along with the amount of Apple’s influence over TSMC nodes.
The report tracks how the company became the primary customer in the industry of global semiconductors though early commitments and being at scale to new TSMC processes for manufacturing. Apple’s readiness to soak up early costs and the funding of improvements in yield, and match the roadmap of TSMC, resulted in their capability to lead against rivals and dominate the industry.
The surge of AI accelerators has made a second class in the customer base, like NVIDIA, which can eat up large amounts of the capacity for advanced manufacturing. Apple still relies on TSMC for its advanced chips, but SemiAnalysis reports that Apple is looking into other options for components that have a lower risk.
