Sony partners with TSMC for Japanese chip plant

A few weeks ago rumors spread out about a possible partnership between Sony and TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.). Apparently, the Japanese firm is trying to reduce the continuous constraints caused by the crisis in the semiconductor industry. One of its main products, the PlayStation 5 is suffering from chipset shortages. The partnership probably will help the company in the manufacture of its console's chipset, but also goes beyond that.

According to a report from AsiaNikkei, the Japanese tech giant confirmed that is considering joining hands with TSMC. That happened during a conference held to showcase its earnings for H1 2021. During the conference, the company's Chief Financial Officer stated: "The Stable procurement of semiconductors is a crucial issue amid the chip crunch. The TSMC Plat could be a solution". For now, Sony outsources the production of most of its logic chips that are key components of its image sensors.

TSMC wants to build its first chipset plant outside of Taiwan

Sony is also raising efforts to attract more clients and improve the quality of its sensors. The goal is to dragon their applications across multiple different product ranges. The executive further adds that the company will hold discussions with TSMC and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry for partnership. The collaboration may bring together Sony's expertise in Japanese chip operations to the world's biggest contract chipmaker. TSMC currently manufactures chips for giants like AMD, NVIDIA, MediaTek, Qualcomm, and many others.

Earlier this week, Sony has confirmed that it was considering a plan to partner up with TSMC for a new chip plat inside of Japan. The executive avoided commenting on the investment for this chip plant. He added that "It will be very meaningful for us to further strengthen and deepen our partnership with TSMC, which has the world's most advanced semiconductor production technology". For those unaware, TSMC is planning to open its first advanced production side outside of its homeland. Interestingly, the rumors were previously stating that the Taiwanese firm could pick Japan for its first external plant. The plant could be situated in the Western Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto. The construction will start sometime next year and productions may begin in 2024. Let's see if Sony will have something to do with this business.

As aforementioned, Sony's biggest trouble with the lack of chips is the PS5. The company can't ensure a large stock of consoles to meet the demand. Despite that, the console is still selling but could be selling a lot more.