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Morris Chang

From Alfawiki
Morris Chang
Born
Morris Chang Chung-mou

(1931-07-10) July 10, 1931 (age 95)
Ningbo, Chekiang, China
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, electrical engineer
Years active1955–2018
Known forFounder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
Notable workAutobiography of Morris C.M. Chang Vol. 1 (1998), Autobiography of Morris C.M. Chang Vol. 2 (2024)

Morris Chang Chung-mou (; born July 10, 1931) is a Taiwanese billionaire entrepreneur and electrical engineer. He established the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), holding the position of CEO from 1987 until 2005 and chairman through 2018. As of 2025, his estimated net worth stands at US$5.1 billion.

Originally from China, Chang resided in Hong Kong before relocating to the United States. He attended Harvard University, acquired three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and completed his doctoral studies at Stanford University in 1964. His semiconductor career began at Sylvania Electric Products, followed by a tenure at Texas Instruments, culminating in his appointment as president and COO of General Instrument in 1984.

During the 1980s, Chang moved to Taiwan to lead the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). In 1987, he founded TSMC, the first dedicated semiconductor foundry globally, introducing the foundry business model. Under his guidance, TSMC evolved into Taiwan’s largest enterprise and a worldwide leader in semiconductors. Recognizing his significant contributions to Taiwan’s technology industry, President Tsai Ing-wen honored him with the Order of Propitious Clouds in 2018 and the Order of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 2024.

Early life

Born in Ningbo, Chekiang, on July 10, 1931, Chang came from a middle-class Chinese household. His father, Chang Wei-kuan (1906–1992), who graduated from East China Normal University with a Western-style education, was involved in finance and banking.

Due to his father’s profession and the turmoil of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the family frequently relocated among Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chongqing, and Shanghai. Much of Chang’s early education occurred in British Hong Kong until Japanese occupation forced additional moves. By 1948, amid the Chinese Civil War and prior to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he resettled in Hong Kong.

Education in the United States

Following high school graduation, Chang pursued engineering studies; since Hong Kong lacked universities focused on science, his father arranged for him to study abroad in the U.S. With support from his uncle Chang Ssu‑hou at Northeastern University, he applied and was admitted to Harvard University. In 1949, he enrolled at Harvard College as its sole Chinese undergraduate and ranked within the top ten percent during his freshman year. He initially majored in applied physics and engineering sciences but transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) seeking enhanced engineering opportunities.

While at MIT, he earned scholarships and supplemented his income through work as a typist and research assistant while undertaking an accelerated curriculum. By 1953, he received both a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) in mechanical engineering; he subsequently completed a Master of Engineering (M.E.) degree in 1955.

After not passing two doctoral qualifying examinations, Chang departed MIT without finishing a PhD. In 1955, he declined an offer from Ford Motor Company and instead joined Sylvania Semiconductor to enhance yields for germanium transistors.

In 1958, he transitioned to Texas Instruments (TI), advancing to engineering section manager within three years. TI sponsored his doctoral studies at Stanford University, where he earned a PhD in electrical engineering in 1964 after approximately two years of study. His dissertation examined optical characteristics of doped semiconductors.

Career

Chang contributed to an early four-transistor initiative at Texas Instruments (TI), with IBM handling the manufacturing, representing one of the pioneering collaborations in semiconductor foundry services. While at TI, he implemented a then-unconventional approach of setting semiconductor prices "ahead of the cost curve," deliberately accepting reduced short-term profits to capture market share and enhance manufacturing efficiency over time.

Spanning a 25-year period from 1958 to 1983, Chang advanced to the position of group vice president, managing TI’s worldwide semiconductor operations. By the late 1970s, as TI redirected its efforts toward calculators, digital watches, and personal computers, Chang perceived limited growth opportunities within TI’s semiconductor division.

He departed from TI and assumed the roles of president and chief operating officer at General Instrument Corporation between 1984 and 1985.

Taiwan

In the early 1980s during his tenure at TI, Chang noticed that the company’s Japanese plant produced semiconductor chips at twice the yield rate of its Texas facility, attributing this to more skilled personnel and lower staff turnover. This observation convinced him that Asia held the key to advanced manufacturing’s future.

Following his exit from General Instrument, Taiwan’s Premier Sun Yun-suan invited Chang to lead the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a government-backed nonprofit dedicated to fostering industrial and technological progress. In 1987, by leveraging technology transfer and intellectual property licensing agreements with Philips—which acquired a 27.6% stake—and securing funding from Taiwan’s National Development Fund holding 48.3%, Chang established Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). This initiative signified a major shift toward outsourcing chip production to Asia, with TSMC rapidly emerging as one of the most lucrative semiconductor manufacturers globally.

Chang stepped down from ITRI in 1994 and took on the chairmanship of Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation until 2003 while maintaining his role as TSMC chairman. He relinquished the CEO position at TSMC in 2005 to Rick Tsai but returned as CEO in June 2009.

In recognition of his impact on technology and business, MIT named Building E52—the original site of the Sloan School of Management—in honor of Chang and his wife Sophie in 2016.

On June 5, 2018, Chang retired from executive roles at TSMC; C.C. Wei assumed the CEO role while Mark Liu became chairman. Later that year, he was awarded Taiwan’s Order of Propitious Clouds, First Class.

Chang has represented Taiwan multiple times as Presidential Envoy to APEC under the designation Chinese Taipei, acting on behalf of Presidents Chen Shui-bian in 2006 and Tsai Ing-wen on six occasions between 2018 and 2023.

During a 2022 interview with the Brookings Institution, Chang expressed skepticism about U.S. federal initiatives aimed at expanding domestic semiconductor production through substantial subsidies, describing them as expensive and inefficient. He forecasted increased U.S. output but warned that high unit costs would prevent competitiveness against TSMC’s established manufacturing facilities. He also remarked that TSMC’s $12 billion investment in Arizona was motivated more by U.S. government incentives than by straightforward business considerations.

Personal life

Chang became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1962. He married Christine Chen in 1952 while studying at MIT; they separated in 1981 and finalized their divorce in 1991 for their daughter’s welfare. In 2001, he wed Sophie Chang, who is related to Foxconn founder Terry Gou, gaining two stepdaughters through this marriage.

Affiliations

Honorary doctorates

Awards and recognitions

Authored books

  • Autobiography of Morris C.M. Chang Vol. 1 (1931-1964) (1998), published by Commonwealth Publishing, Taiwan, ISBN 9576214491
  • Autobiography of Morris C.M. Chang Vol. 2 (1964-2018) (2024), published by Commonwealth Publishing, Taiwan, ISBN 9786263559752

See also

External links

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