Before the Middle East War, the demand for AI did not decrease. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) recorded a 22% year-on-year increase in revenue in February.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) announced on Tuesday that its combined revenue for January and February reached 718.9 billion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 22.6 billion US dollars). Analysts had expected a 33% growth for the first quarter. Revenue in February increased by 22%, but this growth was affected by the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell in January in 2025. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's revenue in the first two months of this year grew by 30%, primarily due to strong momentum in the construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure before the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East. As the preferred chip manufacturer for NVIDIA Corporation, AMD, and Broadcom Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR serves as a barometer for the global artificial intelligence industry. The focus now is on how the US and Israel's attacks on Iran will impact the willingness to build data centers and other digital infrastructure. Alphabet, Amazon.com, Inc., Meta Platforms, and Microsoft Corporation have already allocated over 650 billion US dollars in spending this year, but concerns about overcapacity and how to profit from the technology still exist. The construction of artificial intelligence data centers could cost billions of dollars and requires coordination with power generation and grid operators, suppliers, and debt providers. Oracle Corporation and OpenAI have abandoned plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Texas, citing delays in financing negotiations and changes in OpenAI's needs.