(Bloomberg) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s CC Wei, who on Tuesday became the first person to hold the dual roles of chairman and chief executive in years, reaffirmed expectations that AI development will drive recovery of the industry in 2024.
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Wei, who was formally named company president on Tuesday, maintained previous projections of 10% growth in the chip market this year, excluding the vast memory sector. But that was a smaller outlook from April, when executives warned about weakness in the smartphone and personal computer markets.
Wei’s rise signifies a changing of the guard at a company founded by Morris Chang that is now at the center of the global AI boom. TSMC remains the most important chipmaker for Apple Inc. as well as Nvidia Corp. and SK Hynix Inc., whose components are considered critical for training and hosting AI services.
The move consolidates power under a single executive as TSMC expands overseas production in the most significant way in its nearly four-decade history. He described how TSMC was progressing in building its Arizona factory, by far its largest overseas investment. But Wei emphasized that TSMC will always start adopting the most advanced technology in Taiwan before considering employing it elsewhere. And he promised to follow TSMC’s business model in the long term.
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Wei begins his presidency during a week when Taiwan is in the spotlight. Many of the world’s top technology executives gathered at Computex in Taipei, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Intel Corp.’s Pat Gelsinger and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s Lisa Su.
TSMC called its shareholder meeting the same morning that Gelsinger gave his keynote address at Computex. Executives at the forum so far have echoed Wei’s outlook of a return to solid growth after years of malaise, in part due to the AI boom.
But executives said Tuesday that TSMC will not begin share buybacks or a split anytime soon, in response to a shareholder query. The company needs money to make investments and capitalize on the industry’s future growth, they said.
Read more: TSMC Chairman Steps Down in Power Shift at Global Chip Linchpin
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