TSMC CEO C.C. Wei informed shareholders on June 4 that the global supply of chips will continue to lag behind AI-driven demand for years. TSMC’s first quarter 2026 revenue hit NT$1.13 trillion, roughly $35.7B, representing a 35% year-over-year increase driven almost entirely by the appetite for AI-capable silicon. The company projects more than 30% revenue growth for the full year 2026 in USD terms.

The numbers behind the shortage

Advanced-node capacity, the sub-7nm and sub-5nm chips that power everything from Nvidia’s latest GPUs to custom AI accelerators, has been under severe constraints since 2024. Demand at leading nodes is expected to exceed capacity by 25-30% in 2026, and the situation isn’t projected to ease until at least 2027.

TSMC is spending aggressively to close the gap. Capital expenditure is projected in the $52-56B range for recent periods, with a total investment of $165B earmarked for its Arizona facility.

Despite this supply-demand mismatch, Wei told shareholders the company would not resort to the aggressive price hikes seen in the memory chip sector, keeping major clients like Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD from seeking alternatives.

What the AI chip crunch means for crypto

GPU availability directly affects mining economics, particularly for networks that still rely on proof-of-work or GPU-intensive computations. When Nvidia can’t get enough chips from TSMC, fewer GPUs reach the market, and the ones that do cost more.

Following the shareholders’ meeting, TSMC shares dipped approximately 1% in Taipei trading, a minor blip for a stock that’s up 4x in three years.

What investors should be watching

The $165B Arizona investment represents a geopolitical hedge that could reshape chip supply dynamics over the longer term. US-based manufacturing capacity would reduce reliance on Taiwan-based production, a risk factor that has concerned markets as tensions in the Taiwan Strait have become a regular discussion topic.