TSMC plans price hikes for advanced chips starting 2026, squeezing AI hardware costs - Crypto Briefing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to raise prices on its most advanced chip manufacturing processes starting in 2026, affecting nodes including 3nm. The price hikes, ranging from... Read original →

TSMC’s (Taiwan, China) planned 3–10% price hikes on 3nm and sub-2nm nodes starting in 2026 reflect not just cost pass-through but strategic monetization of its near-monopoly in advanced logic. Soaring AI demand has strained EUV capacity, extended equipment lead times, and inflated material costs—forcing TSMC to shift its massive fab investment burden downstream. While NVIDIA and Apple possess strong bargaining power, they lack viable alternatives at 2nm, compelling them to absorb higher COGS and likely raise end-product prices. Intel and Samsung may exploit pricing gaps to lure mid-tier clients, yet their yield and scale still lag significantly. Geopolitical pressures are accelerating U.S. and EU efforts to build domestic advanced foundry capacity, but meaningful competition won’t materialize before 2027. The next 24 months will cement a 'high-performance, high-cost, high-concentration' era—squeezing out smaller fabless players from cutting-edge nodes.