Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The whole system that supports TSMC will break down in the event of a war.

You can see this with SMIC and their inability to get modern lithography systems from the only leading edge vendor ASML. Sure, you can create your own vendors to replace such companies, but they are unlikely to ever catch up to the leading edge or even be only a generation or two behind the leading edge despite massive investments.

With non-leading edge equipment & processes you have to make compromises like making much larger chips so you can get the same compute in a low power profile. This drives up the initial cost of every device you make and you run into throughput issues like what Huawei has experienced where they cannot produce enough ships to ship their flagship ship phones at a reasonable price and simultaneously keep them in stock.

Instead you get boutique products that sell out practically immediately because there were so few units that were able to be manufactured.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: