TSMC Faces 18-Month Slowdown Amid Growing AI Bubble Debate

We’re watching a turning point for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The company posted October sales growth of about 16.9 % year‑on‑year, its slowest pace since February 2024. This slowdown sparks questions: are we seeing a temporary soft patch, or a deeper shift in the chip industry? At the same time, the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) chips is massive. Firms are investing billions in data centres, GPUs, and accelerators. Yet, some analysts caution that this boom may resemble a bubble. We’ll explore how TSMC’s slowdown ties into that broader story. We’ll look at what’s happening now, why it’s happening, and what it might mean for investors, tech firms, and the future of AI hardware.