Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to establish a chip design center in Munich, providing local developers with access to design resources.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to establish a chip design center in Munich, providing local developers with access to design resources.

TSMC's first European chip design center is gearing up in Munich, Germany, with a focus on aiding local and European chipmakers to optimize their designs for TSMC's process technology. This bold move was announced during TSMC's European Technology Symposium in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This new center will deliver multiple services to streamline the implementation of chips onto TSMC's process technologies, while also providing partners with system-level design support. From build-a-chip basics for microcontroller units (MCUs) in the automotive sector, to advanced processor design technology optimization (DTCO) for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the Munich center covers all the bases.

Kevin Zhang, TSMC's Deputy Co-COO and Senior Vice President of Business Development and Global Sales, hit the spot on: "We want to bring the best support to the European customer," he said at the event. "By having a design team right here in the heart of the semiconductor land in Europe, we can bridge the customer and the technology manufacturing closer."

TSMC's 10th design center will be its first in Europe. With existing facilities in Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S., the Munich locale will join an impressive global network. This move underscores the resurgence of European chip development and the overall semiconductor industry.

To further bolster European chip development, TSMC also maintains a Design Center Alliance (DCA) - a global network of companies providing chip implementation services and system-level design solutions. These partners can even design custom chips, something TSMC's own design centers don't tackle.

TSMC, alongside partners Bosch, Infineon, and NXP, is currently developing its first European fab. Slated to use TSMC's N12 and N16 (12nm and 16nm-class) production nodes, the facility will cater mainly to the automotive market but will also produce various types of chips. Design optimizations, essential for top-performing chips, often go beyond what electronic design automation (EDA) software provides – necessitating TSMC's European design center presence.

As Kevin Zhang put it: "It's not like you bring the technology there and you can do manufacturing for the rest of your life. That doesn't work that way. You need to work closely with your end customer to continue making improvements."

By positioning itself in the heart of Europe's tech innovation hub, TSMC aims to capitalize on Munich's thriving ecosystem of skilled labor, fostering collaboration with regional partners to design specialized chips tailored for autonomous vehicles, AI accelerators, edge computing, and smart factories.

[1] TSMC strengthens European footprint with new chip design center in Munich, https://www.etbp.de/-/media/emagazine/tsmc-strengthens-european-footprint-with-new-chip-design-center-in-munich/

[2] TSMC to open European chip design center in Munich, https://www.ee-times.com/design/fabless/2022/04/28/tsmc-to-open-european-chip-design-center-in-munich

[3] TSMC Opens EU Chip Design Center in Munich, https://www.semiconductor.net/research/features/tsmc-opens-european-design-center-munich-germany/81806

[4] TSMC Opens New Chip Design Centre in Munich, https://www.encystars.com/company-news/tsmc-opens-new-chip-design-centre-munich/

[1] The new TSMC chip design center in Munich will provide partners with system-level design support, including advanced processor design technology optimization for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications.

[2] This move by TSMC, along with the development of its first European fabric, aims to capitalize on Munich's thriving ecosystem of skilled labor, fostering collaboration with regional partners to design specialized chips tailored for autonomous vehicles, AI accelerators, edge computing, and smart factories.

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