Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of processor chips, reported a 57% surge in its latest quarterly profit as demand soared from makers of smartphones, computers and other consumer gadgetry. TSMC’s net profit for the first quarter of 2023 was 283.5 billion New Taiwan dollars ($9.3 billion), up from 181.7 billion New Taiwan dollars a year earlier. The company said demand was being driven by new technologies like high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. TSMC expects demand to remain strong in the current quarter, forecasting revenue of $16.7 billion to $17.5 billion. The company is preparing to begin production using the industry’s most cutting-edge 3-nanometer technology later this year. TSMC makes chips for many of the world’s major brands, including Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.