C.C. Wei

C.C. Wei
Born	Wei Che-chia
Nationality	Taiwanese
Occupation	Corporate executive, electrical engineer
Title	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC
Known for	Chairman and CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
Awards	Robert N. Noyce Award (2025), TIME100 AI (2025)

C.C. Wei (Template:Zh; born Wei Che-chia) is a Taiwanese corporate executive and electrical engineer who serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. Under his leadership, TSMC has become the indispensable manufacturer of the most advanced semiconductor chips used in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and consumer electronics. Wei's stewardship of TSMC places him at the nexus of global technology supply chains, geopolitical competition, and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. In 2025, he was named to TIME magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI and was announced as a co-recipient, alongside Mark Liu, of the Semiconductor Industry Association's Robert N. Noyce Award, the highest honor in the semiconductor industry. As the leader of a company whose fabrication technology underpins products from Nvidia, Apple, and other major technology firms, Wei is considered one of the most consequential figures in the global semiconductor ecosystem.

Career

Rise at TSMC

C.C. Wei has spent the bulk of his professional career at TSMC, rising through the company's engineering and management ranks over several decades. His deep technical background in semiconductor process technology and manufacturing operations positioned him as a central figure in TSMC's drive to maintain its leadership in advanced chip fabrication. Wei served in a series of increasingly senior roles within the company, including leadership of its operations and business development functions, before ascending to the top executive position.

Wei became Chief Executive Officer of TSMC, succeeding the company's co-CEOs structure that had been in place during a transitional period following the retirement of TSMC founder Morris Chang. He subsequently also assumed the title of Chairman, consolidating the company's executive leadership under a single figure. In his capacity as Chairman and CEO, Wei has overseen a period of extraordinary growth and strategic importance for TSMC, as the company's advanced manufacturing capabilities have become central to the artificial intelligence revolution and the broader digital economy.

Leadership During the AI Boom

Wei's tenure as CEO has coincided with — and been shaped by — the explosive growth in demand for advanced semiconductors driven by the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence systems worldwide. TSMC manufactures the most advanced chips designed by companies such as Nvidia, whose graphics processing units (GPUs) power the training and inference of large AI models. Under Wei's leadership, TSMC has aggressively expanded its capital expenditure and manufacturing capacity to meet this demand.

In early 2026, Wei publicly acknowledged both the scale of the opportunity and the risks associated with the AI-driven demand surge. Speaking about TSMC's investment plans, he noted that the company was closely monitoring AI demand, stating, "I'm also very nervous," in reference to the challenge of balancing massive capital expenditures — reported in the range of $56 billion — against the possibility that AI demand could shift or slow. This candid assessment was noted by analysts and investors as an indication of Wei's pragmatic management style, reflecting a willingness to invest boldly while remaining vigilant about the cyclical nature of semiconductor demand.

Wei's public communications have also provided important signals to the broader technology industry. In early 2026, he delivered what financial analysts described as "fantastic news" for Nvidia investors, providing evidence that AI implementation across industries remained robust and that demand for TSMC's most advanced process nodes continued to grow. As the sole manufacturer capable of producing chips at the most advanced process nodes in high volume, TSMC under Wei's direction has become a bellwether for the entire AI hardware industry.

Global Expansion and Japan Investment

One of the defining strategic initiatives of Wei's leadership has been the geographic diversification of TSMC's manufacturing footprint. Historically concentrated in Taiwan, TSMC under Wei has pursued major fabrication facility investments in the United States and Japan, responding to geopolitical pressures, customer demands for supply chain resilience, and government incentive programs designed to attract advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

In February 2026, Wei made a significant announcement regarding TSMC's expansion in Japan. He revealed plans for TSMC to begin mass production of advanced 3-nanometre chips at the company's facility in Kumamoto, in southern Japan, representing an investment reported at approximately $17 billion. The 3-nanometre process is among the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies in the world, and the decision to bring such cutting-edge production to Japan marked a notable escalation in TSMC's international expansion strategy.

Wei communicated this plan directly to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Office on February 5, 2026. The meeting underscored the high-level diplomatic and economic significance of TSMC's investment decisions, with the Japanese government having actively courted advanced semiconductor manufacturing as a matter of national industrial policy and economic security.

The encounter between Wei and Takaichi attracted particular attention for its personal dimension. According to reports, during the high-stakes meeting, Wei produced a copy of Prime Minister Takaichi's own book from his pocket, in a gesture described as blurring "the lines between corporate diplomacy and fan-like devotion." The anecdote was widely reported in Asian technology and business media as illustrative of Wei's personal approach to relationship-building and corporate diplomacy at the highest levels.

The Japan expansion represented a continuation of TSMC's broader strategy of building fabrication facilities outside of Taiwan. The Kumamoto site had already been the location of earlier TSMC investment for less advanced process nodes, and the decision to upgrade to 3-nanometre production signaled a deepening commitment to Japan as a key manufacturing hub. The $17 billion investment figure placed the project among the largest single foreign direct investments in Japanese industrial history.

Capital Expenditure and Manufacturing Strategy

Under Wei's leadership, TSMC has undertaken one of the most aggressive capital expenditure programs in industrial history. The company's annual capital spending, which is directed toward building and equipping new fabrication facilities and advancing process technology, has risen dramatically in response to the surge in demand for advanced chips, particularly for AI applications. Reports indicated that TSMC's capital expenditure plans for 2026 were in the range of $56 billion, a figure that Wei himself acknowledged carried significant risk if demand were to falter.

Wei has consistently emphasized TSMC's commitment to maintaining its technological leadership, advancing from one process node to the next — from 5-nanometre to 3-nanometre and beyond — in order to produce chips that are faster, more energy-efficient, and more capable. This relentless pace of innovation requires not only vast capital investment but also sophisticated management of supply chains, talent, and customer relationships, all of which fall under Wei's purview as the company's top executive.

The scale of TSMC's manufacturing operations under Wei is without parallel in the semiconductor industry. As a pure-play foundry — meaning it manufactures chips designed by other companies rather than designing its own — TSMC's business model depends on being the trusted manufacturing partner for the world's leading chip designers. Wei's ability to maintain and deepen these relationships, while simultaneously expanding capacity and advancing technology, has been central to the company's continued dominance.

Recognition

Wei has received significant recognition from industry bodies and media organizations for his role in leading TSMC during a transformative period for the semiconductor industry.

In July 2025, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced that Wei, along with Dr. Mark Liu (TSMC's former chairman), would receive the Robert N. Noyce Award, described by the SIA as its highest honor. The award, named after Robert Noyce, co-inventor of the integrated circuit and co-founder of Intel, is presented annually to a leader who has made outstanding contributions to the semiconductor industry. The selection of Wei for this honor reflected the industry's recognition of his role in guiding TSMC's technological and operational achievements.

In August 2025, TIME magazine named Wei to its annual TIME100 AI list, which identifies the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence. Wei's inclusion on the list acknowledged that, while he is not an AI researcher or software developer, his leadership of the company that physically manufactures the chips powering AI systems places him among the most consequential figures in the field. The recognition highlighted the degree to which the advancement of artificial intelligence depends not only on algorithmic innovation but also on the manufacturing capabilities that TSMC provides under Wei's direction.

Wei's public profile has grown considerably during his tenure as CEO, as TSMC's strategic importance has elevated the company — and its leader — to a level of visibility unusual for a semiconductor manufacturer. His statements during quarterly earnings calls and public appearances are closely watched by investors, analysts, policymakers, and technology industry participants around the world, reflecting the outsized influence TSMC wields over global technology supply chains.

Legacy

C.C. Wei's legacy is closely intertwined with the broader trajectory of TSMC and the semiconductor industry during one of its most consequential periods. As the successor to Morris Chang, TSMC's legendary founder, Wei inherited the leadership of a company already recognized as the world's most important semiconductor manufacturer. Under his stewardship, TSMC has not only maintained but extended its technological lead over competitors, advancing to process nodes — such as 3-nanometre — that only a handful of companies in the world are capable of producing.

Wei's leadership has been defined by several key themes. First, he has overseen the transformation of TSMC from a company primarily serving the mobile and consumer electronics markets into the essential manufacturing partner for the AI industry. The explosive growth in demand for AI training and inference chips has placed TSMC at the center of what many analysts describe as the most significant technological shift since the advent of the internet.

Second, Wei has navigated a period of intense geopolitical scrutiny and pressure. TSMC's concentration of advanced manufacturing in Taiwan has been identified by governments worldwide as a strategic vulnerability, and Wei has responded by pursuing major fabrication facility investments in Japan and the United States, while managing the complex diplomatic relationships that such investments entail.

Third, Wei has demonstrated a management philosophy characterized by both ambition and caution. His willingness to commit tens of billions of dollars in capital expenditure, while publicly acknowledging the risks of overinvestment, has been noted by industry observers as a defining feature of his leadership style.

The recognition Wei has received — including the Robert N. Noyce Award and the TIME100 AI listing — reflects a broad consensus within the technology industry and media that his decisions at TSMC have global implications, shaping not only the semiconductor sector but the development of artificial intelligence, computing, and the digital economy more broadly.