this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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It seems all of the major chip designers want a second source option to TSMC, but the alternatives (Samsung, Intel) are simply not viable for leading edge semiconductors.
I don't even know what we should do at this point. I feel like the only way to get another real player at the same level of TSMC is to dump an insane amount of money into the problem, but even that's not guaranteed to work. Also, by the time you catch up to TSMC, they'll probably drop some new tech and leave you in the dust again.
The barriers to entry (even if you have a large amount of capital are simply too high).
That being said, Intel was the undisputed leader of semiconductor fabrication for over a decade before TSMC took the lead.
2nm is 20A on the agnstrom scale used by Intel, and Intel has an 18A process that was projected to hit production late in 2025. TSMC isn't projecting anything better until 16A in 2027.
I have no idea how Trump's trashing of the Chips Act factors in, but it does still seem to be a real race.
Thanks for that info, I haven't really kept up with what processes the different foundries are capable of these days or what's in the pipeline.
There isn't really anything we can do in the current system. It always tends to create monopolies and those monopolies have such a big headstart that it's nearly impossible to catch up. Besides, doesn't it seem kinda stupid to dump tons of money and work into doing the exact same thing, TSMC has already done, again? Would be much more efficient if instead of working against each other, we'd work together.