TSMC says ‘A16’ tech to arrive in 2026, setting up showdown with Intel over who can make the world’s fastest chips
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) said on Wednesday that a new chip-making technology called “A16” will enter production in the second half of 2026, setting up a showdown with long-time rival Intel over who can make the world’s fastest semiconductors.
TSMC, the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of advanced chips and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, announced the news at a conference in Santa Clara, California, where company executives said that developers of artificial intelligence (AI) chips are likely to be the first adopters of the technology rather than smartphone makers.
Analysts said the technologies announced on Wednesday could call into question Intel’s claims in February that it will overtake TSMC in making the world’s fastest-computing chips with a new technology Intel calls “14A”.
Kevin Zhang, TSMC’s senior vice-president of business development, told reporters that the company has developed its new A16 chip-making process faster than expected because of demand from AI chip firms, without naming specific customers.
Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Photo: dpa
AI chip firms “really want to optimise their designs to get every ounce of performance we have”, Zhang said.
Zhang said that TSMC does not believe it needs to use ASML’s new “High NA EUV” lithography machines to build the A16 chips. Intel last week revealed that it plans to be the first to use the machines, which can cost US$373 million each, to develop its 14A chip.
TSMC also revealed a new technology for supplying power to semiconductors from the backside of the chip, which helps speed up AI processors and will be available in 2026.
Intel has announced a similar technology intended to be one of its primary competitive advantages.
Analysts said the announcements called into question Intel’s claims that it will retake the world chip-making crown.
“It’s debatable, but on some metrics, I don’t think they’re ahead,” Dan Hutcheson, vice-chair at analyst firm TechInsights, said of Intel.
But Kevin Krewell, a principal at Tirias Research, cautioned that both Intel and TSMC’s technologies remain years away from being delivered and will need to prove that real chips match their keynote presentations.
