TSMC's CoWoS packaging bottleneck (2023–2024)
AI accelerator demand overwhelmed TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging lines, which mount chips with high-bandwidth memory onto interposers. NVIDIA and AMD waited months for packaging capacity, and TSMC poured billions into expansion.
TSMC roughly tripled CoWoS capacity by late 2024, and shipping delays eased as AI demand kept climbing.
The episode established advanced packaging as a structural chokepoint in the AI supply chain.
NVIDIA is now funding Amkor as a second packaging source so it doesn't depend on TSMC's lines alone.
