Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said on Tuesday that Japan’s Denso Corp. will invest about US$350 million to take a more than 10 percent stake in a joint venture to be established in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Denso will become the second foreign equity investor in the joint venture, called Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM), after Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp.’s (SSS) investment of about US$500 million for a stake of no more than 20 percent in the new company.
In November 2021, TSMC announced the JASM investment plan with only SSS on board. Now, with the presence of DENSO, TSMC’s stake in the joint venture will be reduced, accordingly.
Market analysts said the participation of DENSO and SSS is expected to enhance TSMC’s efforts to develop automotive chips.
“TSMC is very glad to welcome DENSO’s participation in JASM to enable fresh innovations in the future of transportation together,” TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei (???) said in a statement.
“JASM is not only an opportunity for TSMC to support growing market demand for specialty technologies, it enables us to leverage Japan’s top-notch semiconductor talent and contribute to the growth of the global semiconductor ecosystem,” Wei said.
In response, Koji Arima, president and CEO of DENSO, said in the statement that the semiconductor industry has seen an increase in its importance to the automotive business.
“Through this partnership, we contribute to the stable supply of semiconductors over the medium to long term and thus to the automotive industry,” Arima said.
TSMC said construction of JSAM’s wafer lab is scheduled to start in 2022 with production set to begin by the end of 2024.
In November, TSMC announced JASM would use the 22 nanometer and 28nm processes. However, on Tuesday, the chipmaker said the new company will also adopt 12nm and 16nm FinField-effect-transistor (FinFET) processes to meet strong demand in the market.
The FinFET technology is a 3D transistor structure that allows a chip to run faster than previously possible on the same amount of power or to run at the same speed on reduced power.
In addition, the monthly capacity of the joint venture will hit 55,000 12-inch wafers, up from 45,000 units announced by TSMC previously, according to the chipmaker.
TSMC said with an increase in production capacity and strong support from the Japanese government, JASM’s capital expenditure will total about US$8.6 billion, adding that the new company is expected to create about 1,700 job openings for high tech professionals.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel