Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC announced Thursday a forecast-busting net profit for the fourth quarter in a sign of sustained global demand for artificial intelligence technology. TSMC is the world's biggest contract maker of microchips used in everything from Apple phones to Nvidia's cutting-edge AI hardware. The company has been a massive beneficiary of the AI revolution that has seen tech giants pour many billions of dollars into chips, servers and data centres. Some market-watchers fear the bubble of excitement around AI could burst and cause a stock rout, but TSMC's results marked the latest high point for the firm. "Our conviction in the multi-year AI mega trend remains strong, and we believe the demand for semiconductors will continue to be very fundamental," TSMC chairman CC Wei said.