Nvidia has now surpassed Apple to become the largest customer of semiconductor giant TSMC.
For more than a decade, Apple was TSMC’s most important client, enjoying priority access to the world’s most advanced manufacturing processes for its chips. However, the situation has now changed.
AI Boom Pushes Nvidia to the Top
This shift is not a coincidence. It is a direct result of the artificial intelligence boom. While Apple’s business depends on yearly device upgrades such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs, Nvidia’s demand comes from data centers and cloud service providers, and it continues to grow rapidly.
Nvidia’s AI accelerators, based on architectures like Blackwell and Hopper, are ordered in very large volumes. They are also more complex and more expensive to produce than Apple’s A-series processors. This has helped Nvidia increase its importance for TSMC.
In 2025, Nvidia accounted for 19% of TSMC’s revenue, reaching NT$726.97 billion (about 23.4 billion US dollars), more than double the NT$352.27 billion recorded in 2024.
Projections for 2026 suggest that Nvidia could generate around 33 billion US dollars in revenue for TSMC, representing about 22% of the company’s total income. In comparison, Apple is expected to contribute around 27 billion US dollars, or about 18%.
Apple will remain a key partner and will continue to have access to advanced nodes such as 2nm technology. However, it will no longer be the only company influencing TSMC’s expansion plans. Nvidia now has enough financial weight to play a major role in the investment and development decisions of the world’s leading chip manufacturer.
