TSMC could jack chip prices up by 25% by the end of 2021

We could be paying even more for our CPUs, GPUs, and every other chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) if rumors of water price increases are correct.

TSMC is rumored to jack prices of wafers up by 25% year-over-year, an increase of $400 for its 12-inch wafer would drive it to new all-time high prices. TSMC is pumping away with its 7nm process node, scaling up production for the new 5nm node and continuing its work on the 3nm process so that mass production can start in the second half 2022.

Research firm IC Insights reports that TSMC pulled in $1634 of revenue per wafer in 2020, so a 25% bump in that across 2021 and beyond will be a nice windfall for TSMC which is jam-packed with orders right now. TSMC is pretty much the number one manufacturing company in the world when it comes to not only its fabs, but also that it is the only company capable of supplying the biggest companies in the world with the most advanced chips ever made -- these companies include AMD, Apple Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and others.

• Read more: TSMC will make Intel CPUs on 3nm in 2022, largest order of 3nm process
• Read more: Apple scoops up 80% of TSMC's new 5nm production capacity for 2021

TSMC is also battling other fights at the same time with an on-going water crisis in Taiwan, over-worked employees and this overtime isn't being logged in TSMC's system as overtime according to rumors from Taiwanese social media. On top of that TSMC worked with the Taiwan government and automakers on trading chips for COVID-19 vaccines.

The company is stretched to its limits as it is, with TSMC building new fab plants in the USA sometime this year. The new $20 billion production plant TSMC built that will be churning out 3nm wafers is also key to TSMC getting back on its feet and pushing out enough chips that we get out of this GPU shortage, hopefully.