TSMC has pushed back on a report that it is drawing up plans to make 3D DRAM memory chips at Nvidia's request, restating that its business is making logic chips for other companies. A company spokesperson said TSMC focuses on its core business at all times, which is dedicated IC foundry, and that its mission is to be the trusted technology and capacity provider of the global logic chip industry.

The report, published by The Information on 6 November and carried by Reuters, said TSMC had started charting plans for 3D DRAM at the request of Nvidia, its largest customer, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. It said the work was overseen by Hsu Kuo-chin, TSMC's vice president for advanced packaging and a former head of Micron's operations in Taiwan.

Readers should note the limits of the company's response. As Tom's Hardware reported, TSMC also said it does not comment on market rumours, and neither statement directly confirms or rules out the specific initiative described in the report. The pushback is a restatement of strategy rather than a point-by-point denial.

The story landed against a severe shortage of memory chips driven by demand for AI hardware, which has pushed prices up and sent chip designers looking for extra supply. 3D DRAM stacks memory cells vertically to pack more capacity onto a wafer, which is different from the high-bandwidth memory used with AI processors today, where separate DRAM dies are stacked together.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are already working on their own 3D DRAM projects, with public roadmaps pointing to commercial products around 2030. Even for those established memory makers, the technology is still years away from the market, so any TSMC entry would be a long-term move rather than a quick fix for today's shortage.