NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has strongly reaffirmed the company’s deep reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), stating that for crucial advanced packaging technologies like CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate), NVIDIA currently has no “suitable” alternatives. This underscores the critical nature of the partnership, especially as NVIDIA continues to dominate the AI hardware market.
Speaking at the GTC Taipei Global Press Conference, Huang emphasized that NVIDIA’s semiconductor supply chain will continue to lean heavily on TSMC in the near future. His comments suggest that potential collaborations with other foundries, such as Samsung Foundry or Intel Foundry Services, have not yet materialized into viable alternatives for NVIDIA’s most advanced needs, particularly in the CoWoS domain.
When questioned directly about considering partners other than TSMC, especially for US-based manufacturing, Huang responded, “This is a very advanced packaging technology. I’m sorry we don’t have any other choice at the moment,” explicitly identifying TSMC as their sole partner for this critical technology.
CoWoS: Key to Defying Moore’s Law
Huang highlighted that NVIDIA’s ability to deliver significant performance gains, effectively “defying Moore’s Law,” is heavily reliant on advanced packaging technologies like CoWoS. This technology allows multiple chips to be stacked and interconnected closely, enabling performance levels that traditional node shrinking alone might not achieve. According to Huang, there is currently no viable alternative to TSMC’s CoWoS capabilities, a sentiment echoed by industry reports which consistently position TSMC as the leader in the advanced packaging segment.
NVIDIA’s relationship with TSMC has deepened considerably with the surge in AI-driven demand for its GPUs. Reports indicate that NVIDIA has become one of TSMC’s largest customers, even surpassing Apple in the valuation of orders placed with the Taiwanese foundry giant. Furthermore, NVIDIA is seen as a key customer supporting TSMC’s expansion efforts, including its new facilities in the United States.
Future Implications
While NVIDIA has reportedly explored collaborations with Samsung and Intel for advanced packaging, Huang’s recent statements indicate that no concrete deals have been formed that could immediately diversify its reliance on TSMC for its most cutting-edge products.
The CEO’s comments solidify the perception of a long-term, strategic partnership between NVIDIA and TSMC. With TSMC expanding its manufacturing footprint into the US, NVIDIA hopes this will also mitigate some geopolitical uncertainties surrounding its supply chain. The statements suggest that for the foreseeable future, TSMC will remain the cornerstone of NVIDIA’s production strategy for its high-performance AI chips.
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