cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/41305880
TSMC didn’t start by building current nodes, they started out 10 years behind and caught up, and eventually surpassed over decades.
There is a bit more history behind TSMC. You left out the bits where they partnered with other companies, like Philips, that gave them access to proprietary information. They continued building relationships with other large companies and investing back into their own business.
China isn’t doing that. China has had access to older fab equipment for years but still fails to truly innovate. If US companies could trust China enough not to steal modern tech, there could be some real benefits to having fabs in China. The world kinda figured out never to send proprietary information to China years ago. Companies still do and doesn’t take long for a thousand clones to pop up on Ali Express shortly after.
China isn’t doing that. China has had access to older fab equipment for years but still fails to truly innovate
Don’t you remember all the articles about how China had made unexpected advances last year?
I remember they finally were able to make a ball point pen all by themselves in 2017.
When I actually start seeing products that aren’t contaminated with fake ICs or are actually grounded properly without hyper-strict foreign supervision, I’ll change my tune. Until then, there isn’t an article in the world that will convince me that China is actually innovating or taking steps to make quality products.
