CPUs and GPUs to Become More Expensive After TSMC Price Hike in 2026 (www.guru3d.com)

TSMC plans a multi-year price realignment starting when 2 nm production ramps in 2026, a move driven largely by surging demand for AI and data-center chips. The foundry already makes more than 80% of AI chips and derives roughly 74% of revenue from advanced nodes (5 nm at 37% and 3 nm at 23%). Management says higher wafer prices will finance continued R&D—targeting future nodes like 1.4 nm—and keep TSMC at the technological frontier, not merely boost margins. The company expects the adjustment to continue through 2030 rather than being a one-off increase. Technically and economically, this matters because TSMC is reallocating engineers and equipment away from mature nodes (6 nm, 7 nm) to prioritize cutting-edge processes, which will squeeze supply for automotive and industrial customers that still depend on older nodes. For consumers and the AI/ML ecosystem, most modern CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators use TSMC’s advanced nodes, so hardware costs—particularly for next-gen AI training accelerators, gaming GPUs, and desktop processors—are likely to rise after 2026. Competitors like Intel and Samsung are racing to close the node gap with their own 2 nm efforts, but TSMC’s market dominance and capacity constraints give it strong pricing power and broad implications for chip supply chains.