‘Ubiquitous AI’ Is Best ‘Launchpad’ for New Consumer Innovation, Says TSM CEO

Artificial intelligence for “ubiquitous computing” is a “recent development” in the semiconductor industry, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is well-positioned to “ride on this trend,” CEO Mark Liu said on a Thursday earnings call. “We are in a new era where billions of devices are connected at all times and computing takes place at any time and in any place,” said Liu. That’s what TSM means by ubiquitous computing, he said. In smartphones, for example, more intelligent features such as voice, image recognition and AI for decision-making will further increase handsets’ “computing power and silicon content,” he said. Given the smartphone’s “vast established subscription base,” AI for ubiquitous computing “is the best launch pad for new consumer hardware and software innovation,” he said. The trend of “ubiquitous AI” will show up in many IoT and consumer devices, such as robots, drones, surveillance devices, smart TVs and set-top boxes, he said. “Ubiquitous AI will also be widely used in the fast-developing autonomous car market.” AI will require a “very intensive localized parallel computing capability, which drive up the silicon content” in a device, he said. The “proliferation” of AI will demand “insatiable computing capability from semiconductors,” and TSM is developing “various technologies and innovation platforms” to satisfy this industry trend, he said.