September 02, 2024 – According to a report by the Economic Daily News, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has secured its first customers for its upcoming A16 process, which is slated for mass production in the second half of 2026. The report indicates that long-time partner Apple has already reserved the initial production capacity, and OpenAI has also placed an order for its proprietary AI chips.
The A16 process, touted as TSMC’s most advanced node currently announced, incorporates the next-generation Nanosheet GAA transistor technology. Additionally, it marks TSMC’s first process to utilize the Super Power Rail backside power supply solution.
TSMC boasts that the backside contact technology employed in the A16 process maintains the same gate density, layout footprint, and component width adjustment flexibility as traditional front-side power supply methods, making it highly suitable for HPC (High-Performance Computing) products.
According to the report, OpenAI has partnered with two leading custom ASIC design companies, Broadcom and Marvell, for its AI chip development. It is expected that OpenAI could potentially become one of Broadcom’s top four customers.
In terms of the manufacturing process, industry observers predict that OpenAI’s custom AI chips will gradually be produced using TSMC’s 3nm series processes and, in the future, the A16 process.
