TSMC’s 2nm Process Pricing Expected to Increase by 50%, Likely Impacting Consumer Product Prices

Recently, TSMC’s upcoming 2nm fabrication process has sparked concerns among major tech companies, including NVIDIA and Apple, regarding a potential substantial cost increase for next-generation chips. Industry forecasts suggest that the price hike associated with this advanced technology could be unprecedented.

Impact of TSMC’s 2nm Price Surge on Next-Gen CPU & GPU Pricing

According to a report from ChinaTimes, the pricing for TSMC’s N2 node and its variants may rise by as much as 50%.While it remains crucial to approach this information with caution, as the pricing dynamics can fluctuate until the node’s mass production begins, the report raises alarms about an impending ‘semiconductor inflation’ that may necessitate this price increase to ensure the successful launch of 2nm technology.

Next year, mobile phone chips will enter the 2-nanometer era. However, the industry has reported that TSMC’s capital expenditure for advanced processes is huge, but the yield rate has already reached the standard, so there is no discount or bargaining strategy for the time being.– ChinaTimes (Automated Translation)

A significant shift in demand is also noteworthy, as the transition from mobile-centric products to High-Performance Computing (HPC) is gaining momentum. Major players like NVIDIA and AMD are positioned to be early adopters of this new node. Traditionally, cutting-edge fabrication nodes were first utilized in mobile system-on-chips (SoCs), but current industry trends are indicating a swift migration towards HPC applications, with a reported 10 out of 15 customers for TSMC’s 2nm node focused on HPC.

Rapidus semiconductor facility in Japan aiming for 2nm chip mass production by 2027 amid competition from TSMC and Samsung

This potential shift towards HPC-focused customers may justify the anticipated price hikes, as these clients typically have more flexibility in their capital expenditures. However, it is essential to treat these insights as speculative at this point. Upcoming products anticipated to leverage TSMC’s 2nm process include NVIDIA’s Rubin Ultra and AMD’s Instinct MI450 AI series. Similarly, on the consumer side, both NVIDIA’s RTX ‘Rubin’ GPUs and AMD’s Zen 6 CPUs are rumored to incorporate N2 technology, suggesting a broader adoption across various markets.

If the forecasted 50% price increase materializes, it is likely that we will see a corresponding rise in consumer product pricing. This scenario could lead to significantly higher costs for next-generation CPUs and GPUs in the near future.

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