TSMC Brings Advanced Chip Design to Munich as Europe Chases AI Edge

Published  May 28, 2025   0
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TSMC Plans Munich Centre to Support Chip Design

Plans to establish a chip design centre in Munich, Germany, were announced by TSMC, the world’s largest contract semiconductor foundry. The new facility is intended to support European clients in developing high-performance, high-density, and energy-efficient integrated circuits.

According to Paul de Bot, President of TSMC Europe, the Munich Design Centre intends to focus on design enablement across various sectors, including automotive, industrial, AI, and IoT. The efforts fit right into TSMC’s broader strategy to amplify its influence in Europe and provide assistance to local firms in accessing advanced semiconductor process nodes.

The Munich centre will complement the €10 billion manufacturing facility currently under construction in Dresden, Germany. That plant is being developed through the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC), a joint venture involving TSMC, Infineon, NXP Semiconductors, and Robert Bosch. ESMC aims to fabricate chips using leading-edge process technologies previously unavailable in European manufacturing ecosystem. As pointed out by Kevin Zhang, Senior Vice President at TSMC, the Munich facility could later contribute to AI chip development by supporting advanced nodes.  The design centre will work across all ESMC-supported nodes and is not limited by future customer profiles.

The development occurs alongside major tech investments in Munich, including a €2 billion engineering hub being built by Apple. With proliferation in both manufacturing and design infrastructure, TSMC is positioning itself to meet Europe’s strategic demand for semiconductor independence and innovation in AI.