Against the backdrop of the AI boom driving a surge in chip demand, TSMC's revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024 is the fastest in over a year, indicating that the global chip market has begun to recover from the sharp decline in 2023. TSMC's data disclosed on Wednesday showed that first-quarter sales increased by 16.5% year-on-year, reaching approximately NT$ 592.6 billion (about USD 18.5 billion), exceeding the expected NT$ 579.5 billion, marking the largest growth since 2022. In March, sales reached NT$ 195.2 billion, an increase of 7.5% month-on-month and 34.3% year-on-year. TSMC's revenue for January and February was NT$ 397.4 billion (USD 12.6 billion), with a growth of 9.4%. In January, sales were NT$ 215.79 billion, up 7.9% year-on-year; in February, sales were NT$ 181.65 billion, up 11% year-on-year. As the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC's customer base includes tech giants such as Apple and Nvidia. Benefiting from the vigorous development of artificial intelligence technology, TSMC successfully navigated through the difficult period of reduced demand caused by the pandemic. Its stock price has also reached a historical high, with TSMC's US stock rising by 40% since the beginning of the year. This outstanding performance further strengthens market expectations for TSMC, with widespread anticipation that the world's most valuable chipmaker will achieve steady growth this year. Earlier reports indicated that TSMC will increase its 2024 capital expenditure, raising it from the original estimate of USD 28-32 billion to USD 30-34 billion, a more than 7% increase. It is also expected that this year's revenue will increase by at least 20%, reversing the slight decline in 2023. In January, TSMC announced that its revenue in the field of artificial intelligence is rapidly growing at a rate of 50% year-on-year. To meet market demand, the company is actively building new factories in the United States, Japan, and Germany to supply data centers for internet giants such as Amazon and Microsoft. Since hitting a market value low point in October 2022, TSMC's market value has more than doubled. Investors are betting on the continued demand for advanced AI chips produced for companies like Nvidia, offsetting concerns about the global decline in smartphones. TSMC plans to announce its comprehensive earnings report on April 18