Chinese car vendors have asked chip suppliers, including foreign ones, to place wafer starts for their demand with China-based foundries as China accelerates its push for IC self-sufficiency, according to industry sources.

The supply chain has changed as competition between the US and China intensifies, but the Taiwan-based IC design industry has not been directly affected. At the start of the US-China technology war, Taiwanese IC designers enjoyed a wave of business opportunities from those going away from American companies. However, over time, those benefits have waned.

TSMC held its in-person Technology Symposium with a virtual event in parallel for the first time in 2022, showcasing its industry-leading advanced logic technology, specialty technology, and TSMC 3DFabric advanced system integration service. Tesla was among a total of 37 heavyweight customers around the world invited to share their success stories of collaboration with TSMC at the event, sparking speculation over whether this would herald the EV giant’s return to the foundry for automotive chips fabrication.