Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co , the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Tuesday it will open a design centre in Munich, Germany, which could at a later date help develop chips via leading manufacturing processes for applications such as artificial intelligence.

TSMC plans to open a design center to support its fab in Germany, according to a report by Reuters. Unlike a fab, which requires years of construction, the design center is (comparably) easier and faster to launch.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said the facility would design chips to be used across the automotive and industrial sectors as well as artificial intelligence.