TSMC's first European chip design centre to be established in Munich

The world's largest chip contract manufacturer TSMC is establishing the European Union Design Center (EUDC) in Munich. At this center, TSMC will work with customers to develop chip designs that will then be produced either by TSMC itself or by TSMC's joint venture European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC). With EUDC, TSMC aims to strengthen its collaboration with European customers. It is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2025.

All TSMC and ESMC production processes are available for selection among clients. ESMC will produce chips with structure widths of 28 to 12 nanometers in Dresden from the end of 2027. The focus will be on microcontrollers for cars with innovative integrated, but non-volatile Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) and Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), which TSMC explicitly intends to co-develop in Munich. In Taiwan, production with 2 nm structures (N2) is starting this year.

TSMC cites industrial applications, artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunications technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) as further areas of application for EUDC designs. EUDC will work together with the nine existing TSMC design centers in Taiwan, the USA, Canada, China, and Japan.

Apple, already based in Munich

Apple, among others, already has a research center in Munich, which the manufacturer took over from Intel in 2019. Apple's first own mobile modem C1 for the iPhone 16e was largely created with the know-how gained there. Apple Munich is also said to have helped develop its own M processors. Cooperation with TSMC at the site would not come as a surprise.

TSMC has not yet commented on the planned number of employees in Munich. Job advertisements can already be found on LinkedIn and elsewhere.

(mma)