TSMC rides AI demand to raise revenue forecast, says no to US joint venture

TAIPEI, July 18 (Reuters) - Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab, the world's largest contract chipmaker, raised its full-year revenue forecast on Thursday given surging demand for chips used in artificial intelligence, and rejected the idea of a joint venture factory in the United States.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab supplier, has benefited from the global AI boom that has helped it weather the tapering off of pandemic-led electronics demand.

The bellwether for the chip industry earlier on Thursday posted net profit that beat market expectations. It raised its 2024 revenue forecast to growth of slight to above the mid-20% range in U.S. dollar terms, versus a previous prediction of an increase in the low to mid-20% range.

"AI is so hot; right now everybody, all my customers, want to put AI functionality into their devices," Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei told analysts and reporters at an earnings conference.

The company's U.S.-listed shares rose 3.3% in pre-market trading following the results.