A new report says the outfit is putting up three more 2 nm plants to plug the gap, with each one costing around NT$300 billion, roughly €8.7 billion. The lot will set TSMC back a bruising $28.6 billion before the concrete even dries.

Two existing 2 nm plants in Taiwan are already maxed out, with monthly wafer output expected to hit 100,000 units by the end of next year, yet still not enough to steady the situation.

TSMC is building its A14 facility in Taichung as it shuffles towards 1.4 nm lithography. The firm has already poured $49 billion into the early stages of getting that monster off the ground.

The company has seven 2 nm fabs, split between Hsinchu Science Park and Kaohsiung, but all are buckling under demand. Liberty Times Net reports that the three new plants will be built within the Southern Taiwan Science Park Special Zone.

Being the only outfit on the planet capable of advanced lithography at scale does not come cheap, and these investments show just how heavily TSMC is leaning in.

Part of the rush reportedly comes from the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple, which has snaffled more than half of TSMC’s early 2 nm supply for its A20 and A20 Pro chipsets bound for the iPhone 18 line.

Qualcomm and MediaTek are expected to fight over whatever crumbs are left for its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600 chips, leaving TSMC scrambling to boost capacity before the whole circus kicks off.

The report does not pin down how many monthly wafers the expanded 2 nm fleet will eventually produce, so the industry will have to wait until next year to see whether this building spree closes the gap.