NVIDIA Secures Major Share of TSMC’s 3nm Capacity as Rubin AI GPUs Enter Production with HBM4 Samples Ready

The demand for artificial intelligence hardware continues to accelerate, and NVIDIA is once again at the forefront of this technological wave. The company is preparing to dominate the next era of AI computing with its upcoming Rubin GPU architecture, which has already entered production. According to reports from UDN and UDN Money, NVIDIA is expected to account for a significant portion of TSMC’s 3nm production capacity, as it ramps up preparation for the next-generation Vera Rubin AI lineup, scheduled to debut in 2026.

During a recent visit to Taiwan, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang met with executives at TSMC’s Tainan facility, which is responsible for 3nm chip production. Industry sources revealed that one of the main purposes of Huang’s trip was to secure a larger allocation of 3nm wafers to meet the company’s rapidly growing demand for AI processors. TSMC is expanding its 3nm manufacturing output at the Southern Taiwan Science Park from 100,000 wafers per month to 160,000, representing a 50 percent capacity increase. A substantial share of this production is reportedly being reserved for NVIDIA to support its upcoming AI product lineup.

The Rubin architecture represents a major technological leap for NVIDIA, incorporating improvements in computational efficiency, memory bandwidth, and energy optimization. The GPUs will be built using TSMC’s N3P process and paired with next-generation HBM4 memory, positioning Rubin as the most advanced AI computing platform currently in development.

At GTC 2025 in Washington, Jensen Huang showcased the Vera Rubin Superchip, a massive configuration featuring two GPUs linked with the new Vera CPU and surrounded by high-capacity LPDDR memory modules. The design serves as the blueprint for NVIDIA’s next generation of AI and data center hardware, intended to meet the exponential processing demands of large-scale model training and enterprise-level inference.

During his visit to Taiwan, Huang confirmed that the Rubin GPUs have already entered production, a rapid transition considering that the first samples had only recently arrived at NVIDIA’s labs. “We have already seen Rubin on the production line,” Huang stated, adding that TSMC was working tirelessly to support the company’s expanding hardware requirements.

TSMC President C.C. Wei later commented that NVIDIA had requested a substantial increase in wafer volume, but declined to reveal specific numbers, describing the order size as “a secret”. Nonetheless, analysts agree that NVIDIA’s demand is enormous, fueled by its leadership in AI accelerators and data center technology.

Alongside the progress on Rubin, NVIDIA has also obtained HBM4 memory samples from all major suppliers to ensure a stable supply chain for its next-generation GPUs. Historically, the company has sourced memory components from multiple vendors, and given current market constraints, securing partnerships with all major DRAM manufacturers will be vital for production stability. HBM4 is expected to provide the bandwidth and energy efficiency necessary to push AI computation performance to unprecedented levels.

According to internal projections, Rubin GPUs are expected to enter mass production in the third quarter of 2026, possibly earlier depending on manufacturing timelines. NVIDIA distinguishes “mass production” from “risk production,” suggesting that full-scale manufacturing will begin once testing and optimization phases are complete. The company has already confirmed partnerships with major AI players, including OpenAI, which has committed to adopting Rubin accelerators as part of a reported 100 billion dollar investment in new AI infrastructure.

For TSMC, NVIDIA remains its largest high-performance computing client, representing a key source of revenue and technological collaboration. The foundry is accelerating its roadmap toward future process nodes, including A16 (1.6nm), with NVIDIA expected to remain a strategic partner in these developments. Each of Huang’s visits to Taiwan emphasizes the close interdependence between the two companies: NVIDIA relies on TSMC’s advanced semiconductor processes to sustain its innovation cycle, while TSMC’s financial growth continues to be driven by NVIDIA’s aggressive hardware roadmap.

The Rubin lineup is shaping up to be NVIDIA’s most significant release in years, serving as the foundation for the next generation of global AI infrastructure. With production underway and HBM4 technology secured, Rubin GPUs are expected to set a new standard for AI computing performance and efficiency.

 
Do you think NVIDIA’s expanding control over TSMC’s 3nm capacity will create challenges for competitors like AMD and Intel as they prepare their next AI processors? Share your thoughts below.