TSMC founder doubts US competence in chip-making

[Lord Tammerlain]

TSMC founder doubts US competence in chip-making - Asia Times

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) founder Morris Chang told a symposium this week that the fundamentals underlying his semiconductor

asiatimes.com

The most best chipmaking company currently in the world

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) founder Morris Chang told a symposium this week that the fundamentals underlying his semiconductor production company’s world domination are not easy to replicate or transplant elsewhere – including in the United States.

The company’s plain-spoken founder warned in particular of challenges for the company’s planned, new $12 billion fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona, which he and other senior executives and American officials had broken ground on less than a year ago.

TSMC’s cutting-edge semiconductors power phones, computers and control electronics in cars and wireless networks. TSMC has profited immensely from the current global chip shortage, caused in large part by previous US president Donald Trump’s tech war against China.

“It was a breeze for us to rotate technicians and staff among the three fabs across the island and when employees change over from one location to another, they even do not need to move their homes thanks to Taiwan’s bullet trains and highways and well-rounded transport and logistical support,” said Chang.

“It’s unlikely we can replicate all these in Arizona.”

Chang made a foray into the chipmaking business in 1987 in Hsinchu, lured by the city’s convenient location as well as government aid.