The first quarter was no slouch either, with the cash counter ticking up to €21.6 billion, marking a 16.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

TMSC, the world's top dog in contract chip-making, is churning out the brains for everyone from Jobs' Mob to Nvidia, riding high on the AI wave.

The chip arena's getting crowded, with AMD throwing down the gauntlet to Nvidia and Intel unveiling its latest AI brainchild, but it is TMSC playing fairy godmother to their AI chip dreams.

Investors are showing unwavering faith in TMSC's technological prowess, driving up shares by nearly 40 per cent this year, fuelled by the growing demand for AI technology.

In January, TMSC boasted a 50 per cent surge in AI revenue, and the bean counters are predicting a 23.7 per cent revenue bump this year. After a stumble in 2023, it looks like TMSC's back in the chip race with a vengeance.

Still, some investors have warned that the current level of AI chip demand is unsustainable over the long run. Others remain wary given the uncertainty hanging over the Taiwan Strait, the narrow body of water between mainland China and an island it views as a breakaway province.

And Apple — TSMC’s most important customer — is struggling to grow sales of the iPhone particularly in China, where Huawei Technologies Co. is eroding its dominance of the high-end market.