TSMC CEO C.C. Wei says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's plans to build new fabs for AI chips were "too aggressive" for his company. Altman reportedly proposed last year to build about three dozen fabs to meet the growing demand for AI services. TSMC declined, saying Altman's proposed number of fabs was too high and that it feared it would not be able to operate them at the required utilization rate of at least 80 percent. TSMC's projections at the time did not see enough demand for more than 30 new fabs. In January, the Financial Times and Bloomberg reported that Altman was planning a global chip network and was talking to several partners, including TSMC.
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