Wu said exclusive: TSMC responded to the investigation of Bitmain's "poaching"

On March 12, in response to Bitmain’s recent events, TSMC responded to Wu Blockchain, saying that we cannot respond to cases under investigation. TSMC does not comment on specific orders from a single customer, but has always been committed to establishing partnerships with customers in order to become a long-term and important partner that customers trust and rely on for success.

According to Taiwan media reports, 19 people were interviewed by the New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office on March 9 as defendants and witnesses because Bitmain came to Taiwan in 2017 to poach hundreds of chip engineers. The poached engineers came from MediaTek, ASE, and had experience working at TSMC. Later, Taiwan media reported that industry rumors said that Bitmain was preparing to mass-produce a new 5nm product at TSMC, and it was expected to start production in the third quarter with a production capacity of about 5,000 pieces. TSMC not only collected all the mass production fees for Bitmain, but also required Bitmain to sign a special version of the declaration that there would be no interference with trade secrets and intellectual property rights, otherwise it would not be allowed to produce chips.

Bitmain's mining machine chips are almost entirely from TSMC. It is not an exaggeration to say that TSMC is its "lifeline". The two sides have had in-depth cooperation and trust for many years. The S19j currently on sale uses TSMC's 5nm chip. Although TSMC's reply is of little practical significance, it shows support for Bitmain. Relevant people told Wu Blockchain that the matter is not too serious and there are signs of optimism. The above rumors in the Taiwanese media are exaggerated and are actually just common practices in the industry.