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The Bleeding Edge of Semiconductors: A Tale of Three Companies

Thought Leader: Peter Zeihan
February 13, 2024
Source: Peter Zeihan on Geopolitics
Written by: Peter Zeihan

The semiconductor industry is one of ever-growing importance and its leaders—Intel and TSMC—are now fighting to be the first to bring the next generation of advanced chips to market.

Since its founding in the late 60s, Intel has been on the leading-edge of semiconductor manufacturing. For decades it pushed new technologies forward, vastly influencing technology developments across myriad sectors. Intel’s reign of supremacy ended, however, when in 2016 it misjudged the readiness of a novel lithography technology—extreme ultra-violet (EUV).

When Intel hesitated, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) took the EUV plunge, and it paid off. TSMC is now the leading producer of sub-7nm chips, having utilized EUV lithography technology on a mass scale since 2019. Intel, on the other hand, just reached that point last year. Intel is hungry though, and has ambitious plans for the near-future, including securing the next generation of lithography machines (high-NA EUV) before any of its competitors.

The importance of the semiconductor industry will continue to grow as technology evolves and the green transition is carried out. Adding additional layers of security, stability, and cushion to the manufacturing process will be essential as geopolitical tensions rise and the world deglobalizes.

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