TSMC is set to form a comprehensive partnership with Kyushu University, focusing on semiconductor training, education, and joint research. This collaboration aims to address the anticipated annual shortfall of 1,000 semiconductor workers in Japan's Kyushu area over the next decade, as TSMC's Kumamoto chip plant becomes operational. The partnership, expected to be formalized as early as April, will offer Kyushu University students internship opportunities at TSMC. Additionally, TSMC plans to increase its 2024 capital expenditure to between $30-$34 billion, up from the previously guided $28-$32 billion, potentially breaking its capex record of US$36.3 billion set in 2022. The company is also advancing its global expansion plans, including the initiation of pilot production at its first Arizona, USA fab by mid-April 2024, ahead of the original schedule for mass production in the first half of 2025.