TSMC has said it is envious of the profit margins memory chipmakers like SK Hynix and Samsung are currently enjoying, but has deliberately chosen not to raise its own chip prices to a comparable degree because its customers, the companies that design and sell processors and GPUs, could not withstand such steep cost increases. The comments highlight the very different market dynamics facing logic chip foundries compared with memory manufacturers, and matter because they suggest a degree of restraint from the world's dominant chipmaker at a time when many component prices are climbing sharply.

Memory prices have surged due to booming AI-driven demand, allowing firms such as SK Hynix and Samsung to command far higher margins than TSMC currently achieves on its advanced logic chips. TSMC executives reportedly acknowledged that the company could theoretically push through price rises of "four to five times" if it wanted to chase similar margins, but stressed that its customers, including chip designers who rely on TSMC's foundries, would not be able to absorb increases of that scale without serious damage to their businesses. Instead, TSMC appears to be pursuing more measured price increases, balancing its own profitability against the financial health of the wider chip design and PC hardware ecosystem that depends on it.