‘Father’ of Taiwan’s chip industry warns of the end of globalization

Tram Ho

In his speech on the occasion of the “opening” of the second chip factory in the US, the founder of Taiwan’s leading semiconductor company (China) TSMC, Morris Chang commented that globalization has come to an end end, and will not return.

On December 6, TSMC marked a symbolic step when it held a device launch ceremony at its new factory in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. This is TSMC’s second chip plant in the US and was built more than two decades ago. According to Mr. Chang, for this factory to be successful, there are still many “difficult things” to do.

Cha đẻ ngành chip Đài Loan cảnh báo hồi kết của toàn cầu hóa - Ảnh 1.

Mr. Morris Chang.

He compared the current $40 billion plant project to when TSMC built its first factory, located in Camas, Washington, in 1995, just eight years after the world’s largest contract chipmaker was founded. create. “27 years have passed and (semiconductor industry) has seen a big change in the world, a big change in the geopolitical situation,” Chang said. “Globalization has come to an end, free trade has come to an end. A lot of people still want to be able to go back to the way they were before, but I don’t think they can.”

Chang’s comments come amid rising tensions between the US and China over chip production, with the global technology supply chain seemingly split in two. Washington has tried to thwart Beijing’s chip ambitions, most recently through new restrictions announced in October, which have made it more difficult for companies like TSMC to serve customers in China. China.

Years ago, having spent decades studying and working in the US, Mr. Chang had always dreamed of building a factory, or chip assembly, in America. But his first experience was not so smooth.

“When I did that, it felt like a dream come true. But (first factory) ran into cost problems. Then we had a people problem, a cultural problem. The dream turned into a nightmare in real life. It took us a few years to get out of the nightmare, when I decided I needed to put it on hold.”

In the decades that followed, TSMC focused on improving its ability to produce high-tech chips in the domestic market, a strategy that helped the company reduce costs while continuing to sharpen its technology.

Mr. Chang said the device launch event is an important milestone in the construction of a chip factory – marking the time when the first phase of a new project in the US has come to fruition.

“Those feelings of romance and excitement at first wear off. The rest is a lot of hard work,” he said. But according to Chang, with the backing of the US government, TSMC was more prepared than when it first built the factory.

Along with US President Joe Biden, a large delegation of top CEOs of the technology and chip industry attended the event. Mr. Biden hailed the factory as a victory for the US in its efforts to make cutting-edge chips in the country. On the same day, TSMC announced it would triple its investment in Arizona, to $40 billion, to bring its most advanced chip technology to the US.

Washington cited national security concerns, as well as supply issues, as it wanted to bring back semiconductor production at home. Many industry leaders also agree that the age of globalization is far behind and that local sourcing is now a top priority.

Lisa Su, chief executive officer of chip developer AMD, told Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of the event that supply chain continuity is now one of the top priorities for companies like AMD.

Su mentioned the unprecedented chip shortage: “The entire semiconductor ecosystem is ready to work together. This industry has been through a lot of difficulties in the past few years. And diversification. “Geography is very important. Ultimately, what we want to do is make sure we have a stable supply chain for our chips.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook also embraced the idea of ​​on-site chip manufacturing, even though his company has for years partnered with global suppliers to reduce costs for “designed in the US” products. mine.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said: “Building factories is obviously difficult. Today’s event marks TSMC as a fundamental partner in every company’s (supply chain) recovery goal.” .

Apple, AMD and Nvidia will be the first customers of TSMC’s factory in Arizona.

Share the news now

Source : Genk