AMD set to become TSMC's largest 2020 client

Taiwanese outlet Apple Daily reports that, according to supply chain sources, AMD is all set to become TSMC's largest 7nm client by the end of this year, displacing Apple. This remarkable turn of events is due to AMD's increased demand for 7nm parts-both Navi and Ryzen 3000 are built on the process-and Apple's expected move to 5nm for the A14 processor that will power the 2020 iPhones. 

The outlet further reports that TSMC will be scaling up their 7nm capacity. By Q2 2020, TSMC is expected to churn out 140,000 wafer starts per month (WPM), to account for a near-doubling of AMD orders. 

Where would this place AMD relative to TSMC's other 7nm clients? AMD's expected to consume 30,000 WPM, over one fifth of TSMC's total 7nm capacity. Meanwhile HiSilicon-Huawei's chipmaker-and Qualcomm would both account for 17-18 percent of TSMC's 7nm wafer capacity, while Mediatek is set to pick up a 14 percent share. The remaining capacity will be divvied up among other clients, including Apple. 

AMD's push for 7nm parts in both the CPU and GPU space is a key driver behind increased demand for TSMC's 7nm silicon. Both Ryzen 3000 and Navi have leveraged the higher transistor density and clockspeeds enabled by the process in CPUs and GPUs that compare favorably with Nvidia's and Intel's best.