According to CNA (2026-07-12) and TechNews (2026-07-13), TSMC's (台積電) CoWoS advanced-packaging capacity remains undersupplied amid AI chip demand, pushing spillover orders to Intel (英特爾) and Taiwan OSATs including ASE Technology (日月光), Siliconware, Powertech and King Yuan Electronics. TSMC signed a 10-year Amkor deal in June and is building 5 packaging plants in Taiwan plus 2 in Arizona, targeted before 2029.
TSMC's CoWoS Capacity Crunch: How Is the Order Spillover Playing Out?
Both CNA (2026-07-12) and TechNews (2026-07-13) reported the same core development: AI chip demand has pushed TSMC's (台積電) CoWoS advanced-packaging capacity into an undersupplied state even as the company keeps expanding it. Per CNA's report, "foreign media reported that Intel (英特爾), backed by strong support from the U.S. government, is moving aggressively into advanced packaging, and Taiwanese OSATs including ASE Technology (日月光), Siliconware, Powertech and King Yuan Electronics are also riding the order-spillover effect." TechNews carried an identical account the following day.
TSMC has also taken a direct step to add outsourced capacity: according to both CNA and TechNews, TSMC signed a 10-year agreement with Amkor in mid-June 2026 to purchase advanced packaging and testing services from the firm.
AI and ASIC Market Boom: What's Driving the Spillover?
Analyst Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真) framed the spillover not as a warning sign for TSMC but as a byproduct of broader demand. Per CNA, Liu said the phenomenon of TSMC's CoWoS capacity being "extremely tight" and orders spilling over to Intel and Taiwanese OSATs "does not represent a challenge to TSMC's advanced-packaging growth, but rather an inevitable trend of explosive growth across the AI and ASIC chip market overall."
TechNews's report added Liu's supply-chain-resilience angle: AI chipmakers and cloud giants are "actively seeking a second supply chain" in order to "diversify risk amid global geopolitics and tight capacity, and build a more flexible production-scheduling defense line."
Capacity Allocation: Who Is Competing for TSMC's CoWoS?
According to CNA, foreign institutional investors say NVIDIA (輝達) "takes the majority of TSMC's CoWoS capacity." Beyond NVIDIA, TSMC's advanced-packaging capacity customers also include Apple, Broadcom, AMD (超微), Amazon (亞馬遜) and its Annapurna Labs unit, Marvell, and MediaTek (聯發科).
Taiwan's OSATs: How AMD Is Catalyzing Local Supply Chain Orders
CNA reported that AMD moved first, in late May 2026, teaming up with ASE Technology, Siliconware and Powertech to build out 2.5D advanced-packaging capacity, expanding the ecosystem around its Elevated Fan-out Bridge (EFB) technology.
Intel's Expansion: How U.S. Government Support Is Driving It
CNA cited a Wall Street Journal report, which in turn cited sources saying the Trump administration is backing Intel's turnaround with both funding and strategic support, and is also pushing Intel to expand advanced-packaging capacity at its New Mexico plant. Per the same report, "Intel and the U.S. government both believe advanced packaging is the field where Intel has the best chance of competing with TSMC."
TSMC's Global Capacity Roadmap: Taiwan and U.S. Timelines
TSMC's own expansion is running in parallel with the spillover. In Taiwan, CNA and TechNews both reported TSMC already operates 5 advanced packaging plants — in Hsinchu, Tainan, Longtan (Taoyuan), Central Taiwan Science Park, and Zhunan (Miaoli) — with a Chiayi plant under construction, and market reports suggesting TSMC may also expand into the Erlin section of the Central Taiwan Science Park.
In the U.S., TSMC has planned 2 advanced packaging plants in Arizona. Per both CNA and TechNews, TSMC is currently applying for permits to build the first of the two, targeted to begin operations before 2029.
| Facility location | Facilities | Status / timeline | Sources |
|---|
| Taiwan (Hsinchu, Tainan, Longtan, Central Taiwan, Zhunan) | 5 plants | Operational; Chiayi plant under construction; Erlin expansion rumored | CNA, TechNews |
| Arizona, U.S. | 2 planned plants | Permitting first plant; targeted before 2029 | CNA, TechNews |
| Amkor (outsourced) | 10-year supply agreement | Signed mid-June 2026 | CNA, TechNews |
What This Means
The reported facts sit together without contradiction: TSMC is simultaneously expanding its own footprint (5 Taiwan plants, 2 Arizona plants targeted before 2029) and outsourcing overflow (the 10-year Amkor deal) while orders still spill to Intel and Taiwan's OSATs. That combination is consistent with Liu Pei-chen's framing in both CNA's and TechNews's reports — that the spillover reflects broad AI/ASIC demand growth and customer-side supply-chain diversification (per her second-source analysis in TechNews), rather than a shortfall in TSMC's own advanced-packaging position. AMD's move to bring ASE Technology, Siliconware and Powertech into its EFB ecosystem, and Intel's U.S.-government-backed New Mexico expansion, are the two concrete instances of that spillover cited across the two reports.