TUM President Thomas Hofmann emphasized that the center will deepen research in FinFET and AI hardware design and foster collaboration with TSMC.

Over the next five years, the center plans to train more than 300 students and researchers in AI chip design, with initial workshops starting in spring 2026.

TSMC's joint venture ESMC, established in Dresden in August 2024 with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP, is expected to produce 40,000 wafers per month using advanced process technologies when fully operational.

MACHT-AI aims to train students in TSMC's FinFET technology and develop efficient AI chips using TSMC’s 16 nm and 7 nm processes, with initial workshops planned for summer 2026.

TSMC's role highlights the significance of energy-efficient and powerful chips for future technological advancements.

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is launching the Munich Advanced Technology Center for High-Tech Chips (MACHT-AI), supported by 4.475 million euros from the Bavarian government, to focus on education, training, and research in AI chip design.

This initiative aims to address Europe's shortage of AI chip design professionals and foster local talent in advanced chip technologies through collaboration with Taiwan's TSMC, the world's leading chip manufacturer.

TUM's partnership with TSMC, which holds about two-thirds of the global market share, underscores the importance of computational power and energy efficiency in future chip development.

This initiative aims to make Bavaria and Germany more economically independent from the US and China by building local knowledge and production capacities for advanced AI chips, supporting the new TSMC semiconductor plant in Dresden funded with 10 billion euros from German and EU funds.

In May 2025, TSMC announced plans to establish a chip design center in Munich to assist European clients, with operations beginning in the third quarter of 2025.

TSMC will provide technical support to the center, focusing on developing AI chips for automotive, industrial IoT, and AI applications, aligning with its broader European strategy.

Prof. Hussam Amrouch, head of the center, stresses responsible training to produce market-ready solutions and plans to include students from other Bavarian universities.

The expansion into Europe is driven by regional shortages of advanced chip design expertise and the need to support TSMC's new EU-based FinFET-capable foundry in Dresden.