Saying that TSMC relies on ASML and Zeiss is a bit reductive. If those were the ingredients of semiconductor success, then Intel wouldn't be in the position it's in.
Historically, the landscape of the chip industry has had many leading node players.
Now, it has ~1.75. TSMC & Samsung. With Intel and SMIC behind them.
The reduction to those 4 players, coupled with demand from mobile, GPUs, and ML accelerators, is pretty unique since the earliest days of the industry... when pretty obscene profits were also made for a long time (Intel, late 80s to 2000).
I'd call a decade of dominance a pretty stable industry.
Historically, the landscape of the chip industry has had many leading node players.
Now, it has ~1.75. TSMC & Samsung. With Intel and SMIC behind them.
The reduction to those 4 players, coupled with demand from mobile, GPUs, and ML accelerators, is pretty unique since the earliest days of the industry... when pretty obscene profits were also made for a long time (Intel, late 80s to 2000).
I'd call a decade of dominance a pretty stable industry.