TAIWAN Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s sales rose 34% in November, reflecting sustained growth from AI demand despite concerns that data center building will slow.

The go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp. reported monthly sales of NT$276.1 billion ($8.5 billion). The combined sales in October and November rose 31.4%, based on Bloomberg’s calculations, while analysts project sales to grow 36.3% in the current quarter. TSMC’s shares are up about 80% so far this year.

The Taiwanese company is seen as a bellwether for the build-out of artificial intelligence data centers. Since ChatGPT was first launched in late 2022, TSMC and other AI hardware suppliers have enjoyed a boost from the massive spending on servers and data centers from big tech firms including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.

Investors are growing concerned about whether the spending will deliver returns, given the lack of a killer AI application. Still, TSMC is expected to gain pricing power as rivals Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp. both struggle to gain traction in contract manufacturing. –BLOOMBERG