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0 pointsBalgair3y ago0 comments

National security.

TSMC is one of the key players in the 21st century. As we've seen with the supply chain issues from covid and the Ukrainian conflict, high quality semiconductors are a vital resource for modern nations' security and economies.

TSMC is the only entity that can make the highest quality chips (3nm being not actually 3nm, but just called that way for marketing purposes). If Taiwan looses that unique ability, they then loose much of the backing of NATO-aligned nations.

Taiwan bet the whole nation on TSMC, and it's paid off thus far. They're not likely to let go the trump cards they hold.

More on the issues with Taiwan and China here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6sCsOdqXQw

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steve_taylor3y ago

That’s quite the gamble. If a competitor develops a 5nm capability, Taiwan and TSMC are both screwed. The fact that only TSMC in Taiwan has this capability makes Taiwan a jucier target for the CCP. All this talk of reunification may be little more than a power grab. Control the best semiconductors, control the world.

porknubbins3y ago

What is TSMC/Taiwan’s unique capability? Aren’t ASML in Europe the ones making cutting edge EUV machines that drive process shrinks? I genuinely don’t know but I assume TSMC is mostly just good at scaling the production up economically.

daemoens3y ago

Doing it economically is still incredibly challenging, and there's a reason why they're so far ahead of everybody else.

rasz3y ago

Everyone can buy top of the line kitchenware, but you need great cooks to run 5 star restaurant. Its all about tuning to reach good yields, TSMC seems to excel at that.

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