Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said it had launched legal proceedings and taken disciplinary action against employees involved in potential trade secret leaks after detecting unauthorised activities during routine monitoring.

TSMC said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday that its "comprehensive and robust monitoring mechanisms" enabled early identification of the issue, leading to swift internal investigations and strict measures against the personnel involved.

The case, now under judicial review, prevents the company from providing further details, said TSMC, the world's top producer of advanced artificial intelligence chips.

Nikkei Asia earlier reported that the breach involved several former employees suspected of attempting to obtain critical proprietary information on TSMC's 2-nanometer chip technology.