TSMC Founder Morris Chang Breaks Year-Long Public Silence at Taipei Dinner with Nvidia's Jensen Huang
In a highly anticipated appearance that quelled months of industry speculation, Morris Chang, the 94-year-old founding father of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), emerged from a year-long public hiatus for a private dinner in Taipei with Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang.
Chang's absence from the public eye throughout 2025, including TSMC's signature annual Sports Day where he traditionally offers sector insights, had fueled widespread discussion about his well-being and role. His return, therefore, drew significant attention from the global semiconductor community.
"He’s getting stronger, but his spirit is high, and his mind is so sharp. Talking to Morris always makes you very sharp," Huang told reporters after the dinner at a Cantonese restaurant, where Chang arrived in a wheelchair. Huang emphasized that Chang remains mentally incisive and in good spirits.
The dinner underscores the deep, strategic partnership between the world's leading chipmaker and its most valuable customer. It came just months after Chang's voice was featured in a joint Nvidia-TSMC video marking the start of Blackwell chip production at TSMC's Arizona facility—a $165 billion project Chang described as the realization of a long-held dream to build fabs in the United States.
Earlier on Thursday, Huang, who is in Taiwan for a year-end banquet with local staff and supply chain partners, addressed broader industry concerns. He dismissed notions that U.S. efforts to onshore chip production are draining capacity from Taiwan. "Global chip production is expanding, not shifting," Huang stated, noting new capacity additions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He reaffirmed that Taiwan will remain the industry's indispensable manufacturing core, with TSMC needing to "sharply scale capacity" over the next decade.
Industry Voices React:
"This is more than a social dinner; it's a powerful symbol of stability," said Michael Chen, a semiconductor analyst based in Singapore. "Seeing Chang, even briefly, alongside Huang sends a reassuring signal to the market about TSMC's leadership continuity and the unshakable Taiwan-U.S. tech axis."
"The wheelchair is a stark reminder that we are witnessing the end of an era," commented Sarah Wilkins, a tech journalist covering Asia. "While his mind is clearly sharp, the physical reality prompts urgent questions about succession planning beyond CEO C.C. Wei. The industry's reliance on this one man, even in retirement, is concerning."
"All this 'dream' talk about U.S. fabs is a diplomatic facade," argued David Park, a sharp-tongued commentator on geopolitical tech issues. "The real message Huang is telegraphing is 'don't panic.' The U.S. is taking a slice, but the heart and brain of this industry will stay in Taiwan whether Washington likes it or not. This dinner was a carefully staged show of force."
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