Green Owl

Chips

Who builds their chips

Nvidia, Apple, AMD and Google design rival chips. TSMC builds all four - and Nvidia is now its biggest customer.

Numbers as of 18 Sept 2026

The full story

  1. A map of who designs chips and who builds them. Nvidia's Rubin AI chip, Apple's iPhone 17 chip, AMD's 2nm server chip and Google's Pixel 10 chip all lead to TSMC, which is highlighted. Tesla's AI6 chip leads to Samsung in Taylor, Texas, and Microsoft's custom AI chip to Intel's 18A process.
  2. The biggest customer: Nvidia paid TSMC about 23 billion dollars in 2025, 19 percent of TSMC's sales, up from 12 percent in 2024. Its next AI chip, Rubin, is built on TSMC's 3nm process and ships from late 2026. Apple held the top spot for over a decade.
  3. The one it passed: Apple paid TSMC about 20.5 billion dollars in 2025, 17 percent of its sales, down from 22 percent in 2024. The iPhone 17's A19 chip uses TSMC's 3nm process, the same family as the Pixel's chip. Apple was TSMC's biggest customer for over a decade.
  4. The switch: Samsung built four generations of Google's Tensor chip, G1 to G4, from 2021 to 2024 for the Pixel 6 through 9. TSMC builds the G5 on its 3nm process, in the Pixel 10. Samsung lost a customer it had held since 2021.
  5. The one that split: Tesla's AI6 chip goes to Samsung's Taylor, Texas plant under a 16.5 billion dollar deal running to the end of 2033. AI6 runs self-driving and robots; AI5, the chip before it, uses TSMC too.
  6. The challengers: Microsoft picked Intel's 18A process for a custom AI chip, and Qualcomm is testing Samsung's 2nm process, with its CEO confirming talks in January 2026. Neither is confirmed in volume production. Does TSMC ever lose this?
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Which of these would you have guessed pays TSMC the most?

TSMC does not name customers. Its 2025 annual report lists the largest at 19% of sales and the second at 17%. Those are Nvidia and Apple - about $44B together, out of $122.4B.

In 2024 the order was the other way round: Apple 22%, Nvidia 12%.

Google moved its Pixel 10 chip from Samsung to TSMC last year.

The two lines that go elsewhere are real deals, not a trend yet. Tesla signed $16.5B with Samsung for its AI6 chip, but its AI5 is also built at TSMC. Microsoft picked Intel's 18A process for a chip of its own.

Why it matters: when a third of one company's sales comes from two customers, both sides are exposed to each other.

Each line is one named chip, not everything a company buys.

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Companies in this picture

AppleAMDGoogleIntelMicrosoftNvidiaQualcommSamsungTeslaTSMC

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