C.C. Wei, Big-Spending Chipmaker

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has a good claim to being one of the world’s most important companies. In addition to its standing as the largest manufacturer of semiconductors for other businesses, it has a substantial lead in the most advanced chips, which power the iPhone and other devices. Under C.C. Wei, TSMC has also bolstered its status as the go-to chipmaker for dozens of other key names in tech, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Tesla Inc.

Now the greatest challenge facing the Yale University-trained electrical engineer is alleviating fears in Washington and other capitals that TSMC’s operations, critical to both civilian and military technologies, are too vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. Its fabrication plants are heavily concentrated in Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory and has never ruled out taking by force. In response, Wei is spending on major manufacturing sites in Japan and Arizona. (The Biden administration finalized plans in August to dedicate $50 billion to revive the US chipmaking industry; TSMC is likely to receive billions in subsidies.) The plants will help unblock the supply chain bottlenecks that have bedeviled the global economy since the pandemic began and will bring production closer to customers such as Sony Group Corp. and Intel Corp. They’ll also give the semiconductor supply chain a chance at surviving a conflict between great powers in the Pacific.