Taiwan's TSMC Giant Says Chip Shortage Could Last Into 2022

By Ana Dascalescu

Posted on April 16, 2021

The global semiconductor shortage has made it almost impossible to buy a GTX 3000 series card, forced Samsung to skip a yearly flagship phone launch and hit even the small vendors.

Unfortunately, according to the experts, the shortage won’t be solved this year and might very well extend into 2022.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the giant Taiwanese supplier, said that the chip shortage could last into 2022, despite their efforts of expansion at breakneck pace.

“We have acquired land and equipment, and started the construction of new facilities. We are hiring thousands of employees and expanding our capacity at multiple sites,” said CEO C.C. Wei during an online earnings briefing.

Despite TSMC building new facilities, hiring thousands and reporting a 19.4 increase in profit this first quarter, the company still can’t keep up with demand.

The statement was reinforced by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who told the Washington Post that the chipset shortage will last for “a couple of years”.

Unfortunately, as both Apple and Qualcomm are buying TSMC chipsets, this crisis will continue to affect your favorite devices.

If you were looking to upgrade your tech, expect to pay a premium if you want it this year or the next – or hunker down and wait for the COVID-19 fueled crisis to pass.