The island dominates the global manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which power AI.

Foreign firms like Nvidia and Apple -- key customers of Taiwanese chip giant TSMC -- have poured billions of dollars into semiconductors, servers and data centres.

Gross domestic product in the three months to September rose by 8.21 percent year-on-year, according to a preliminary estimate released by Taiwan's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

In October the agency had projected 7.64-percent growth.

The statistics bureau increased its fourth-quarter and full-year GDP forecasts from previous estimates, to 7.91 percent and 7.37 percent, respectively.

"The rapid expansion of AI applications has been prompting major cloud service providers to accelerate the build-out of AI infrastructure," it said in a statement.

The agency cited other factors, including the United States not yet imposing special tariffs on semiconductors and demand for consumer electronics that has been recovering, as having "significantly" boosted Taiwanese exports.

In October, the island's exports hit a record high.

Total shipments soared nearly 50 percent from a year ago to $61.8 billion, with the United States being the biggest export destination.

aw/ami

NVIDIA

Apple

TSMC - TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY