Financial Center / Reported by Xiao Youchen
▲ American scholars admit frankly that TSMC has advantages that the United States seriously lacks.
TSMC, Taiwan’s leading wafer foundry, went to the United States to set up a factory last year, and then announced that it would increase its investment to US$40 billion (approximately NT$1.21 trillion), which aroused heated discussions from all walks of life. Recently, some American scholars pointed out that TSMC could even eclipse OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) by virtue of its breathtaking global market share.
Northeastern University campus media reported that W. Paul Chiou, an associate professor of finance at the school and director of the financial-related analysis laboratory, pointed out that TSMC is the ninth largest company in the world, and it manufactures and supplies 55% of the total global demand for chips. , and more than 90% of the most advanced processors.
Paul lamented that TSMC’s astonishing global market share, even if OPEC accounts for 40% of global oil production, “looks inconspicuous.”
Zhang Zhongmou, the founder of TSMC, once said that the cost of US-made chips is nearly 50% higher than that of MIT. If the United States tries to increase its domestic production of chips, “it will be a wasteful, expensive and futile approach.” Paul agreed with Zhang Zhongmou’s statement and emphasized that the United States really does not need to pursue 100% chip self-sufficiency.
Ahmed Busnaina, a professor of electrical engineering at Northeastern University, said that TSMC’s strongest key advantage is undoubtedly its excellent employees, because the wafer manufacturing process is very complicated and requires professionals with doctorates, and even There needs to be chemistry experts working side-by-side with physics experts.
Ahmed said frankly that the United States currently lacks talents in the semiconductor field. The current primary goal of the United States is not only to train enough engineers, but also to motivate more high school students so that they are willing to really enter the field of electronics or engineering.
