TAIPEI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC

posted a 54% rise in third-quarter net profit on

Thursday that beat market expectations as it continues to reap

the rewards of surging demand for semiconductors used in

artificial intelligence applications.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ( TSM ) ,

the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple ( AAPL )

and Nvidia ( NVDA ) supplier, saw July-September net

profit rise to T$325.3 billion ($10.11 billion) from T$211

billion a year earlier.

The profit beat a T$300.2 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which

is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more

consistently accurate.

($1 = 32.1700 Taiwan dollars)