TSMC has moved into more serious discussions with Texas officials about building chip capacity in the state, according to reporting by veteran chip journalist Tim Culpan. The talks gained pace in the first half of 2026, when TSMC executives in charge of overseas operations met Texas officials directly.
The two sides had been talking on and off for more than 10 years without reaching a deal. That long history makes the shift notable: the world's largest contract chipmaker is now engaging at a level it had previously avoided, even as Intel pushes ahead with its own plans in the state.
Inside the TSMC Texas talks
The project under discussion has been referred to as the Terafab. Culpan describes a race in which Intel is proceeding at its own pace while TSMC remains in the hunt, meaning no winner has been settled.
A detail from the report helps explain why the talks restarted: TSMC Chairman CC Wei once reassured a client worried about chip supply, telling him that as long as the client was willing to pay, the chips would be there. That promise, made about two years before the 2026 report, frames TSMC's position as the supplier everyone wants to keep close.
Because the sourcing is a single exclusive report based on unnamed sources, the talks should be treated as reported discussions rather than an announced project. Neither TSMC nor Texas officials have confirmed a deal.
Why TSMC in Texas matters for the chip supply chain
TSMC is the world's largest contract chipmaker and the main manufacturer behind the processors inside most flagship phones and AI accelerators. Where it builds capacity shapes prices, delivery times and which companies get priority when demand spikes.
For years the company has concentrated its most advanced production in Taiwan. Adding serious US capacity would spread that risk, but it also means higher costs that usually travel down the supply chain to device makers and, eventually, buyers.
