$TSM $MU $SKHY $NVDA TSMC Senior VP and Co-COO Hou Yongqing (Cliff Hou) at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 On the speed of AI demand Compared with the past 30 years, he has “never seen demand grow at such a rapid pace and at such high frequency.” If equipment demand at the end of last year was 1x, it rose to 1.5x after one quarter and reached 1.9x by July—a 90% increase in just over half a year, nearly doubling. On the ecosystem challenge “How the entire Taiwan semiconductor ecosystem can cope with such rapid demand growth in just six months is a major challenge we currently face.” On technology and collaboration AI’s need for computing power and energy efficiency is driving packaging and system-level performance “much faster than before.” The supply-chain model must change: “We must ensure that the performance achieved at one stage can still be realized at the next partner’s stage.” This requires “a brand-new model of cooperation.” On fab expansion TSMC is simultaneously building 13 fabs in Taiwan—“something we have never done before”—plus another 5–6 overseas, for a total of nearly 20. Previously the company typically built only 4–5 at a time. “Even so, it is still not enough to meet demand.”