TSMC has pulled ahead in the race to build the world's smallest, fastest chips — good news for the company and for AI chipmakers, and a setback for Intel and Samsung.

• TSMC's new A16 process is the first angstrom-class chip platform to move the power wiring to the back of the chip, freeing up the front for signals.
• Moving power to the back solves a growing traffic jam: on shrinking chips, power and signal wires fight for the same space and voltage sags.
• Chips built this way run 8–10% faster at the same power, or use 15–20% less power at the same speed, and pack in more circuits.
• The design is especially suited to AI and high-performance chips, which need dense power grids and complex wiring.
• Intel invented the technique first but had to rework its cell layouts to make it work; Samsung is developing its own version and may hit the same problem.

Outlook: A16 is set to enter mass production in the last quarter of this year, giving TSMC a lead in the chips AI companies want most.