The world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has reported a surge in sales and profits in the first quarter, propelled by strong AI chip demand.

TSMC released earnings for the three months through March on Thursday. Revenue and profits declined in 2023 for the first time in 14 years.

The company says first-quarter net revenue rose 16.5 percent year-on-year to 592.6 billion Taiwan dollars, or more than 18 billion US dollars. Net profit increased 8.9 percent to about 7 billion US dollars.

C.C. Wei, the Chief Executive Officer of TSMC, told a news conference that AI technology continues to evolve to adapt to more complex AI models, and more high-performance chips will be needed to support the process.