AI Around The World – TSMC Pumps More Money Into U.S. Operations

USA Flag with sunlight for background In some ways it’s an unlikely partnership – but news broke Tuesday that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company intends to put an additional $100 billion into American-based production efforts. Along with the existing $65 billion invested in an Arizona plant, that number comes to $165 billion total. TSMC plans to open three new plants, along with two packaging facilities, and a center for a research and development. It’s a big shot in the arm for American jobs and capital, and it’s going to be a big help in supplying American companies like Nvidia and AMD. “AI is reshaping our daily lives and semiconductor technology is the foundation for new capabilities and applications,” TSMC Chairman and CEO Dr. C.C. Wei said in a press statement. “With the success of our first fab in Arizona, along with needed government support and strong customer partnerships, we intend to expand our U.S. semiconductor manufacturing investment by an additional $100 billion, bringing our total planned investment to $165 billion.” For so long, TSMC has been the backbone of the semiconductor industry, dominating in global production. And there was a lot of demand – we saw dramatic shortages of chips during the cloud era, where vehicles sat on lots waiting for microprocessor implants – more recently, data centers became a big source of demand, and the clamor for more chips continued. The original TSMC involvement stateside has been augmented domestically by the Chips Act, where the Biden administration put $52 billion into domestic operations. Now that number is going to more than double in terms of TSMC‘s investment. There’s a strange sort of geopolitical tension to the deal, though, because China views Taiwan as part of its empire. I wanted to understand what the response has been to TSMC’s new announcement internationally, so I ask ChatGPT 03 mini this question: Is TSMC’s US investment spurring jealousy in other nations? The model essentially told me that this plan has, in fact, brought about jealous reactions abroad. “The most prominent reaction of jealousy has come from China,” ChatGPT said. “Chinese officials and media have been vocal about their displeasure—seeing TSMC’s decision to expand in the US as a move that undermines Taiwan’s strategic “silicon shield” and, by extension, China’s leverage. They view this shift as a loss for Beijing’s ambitions to dominate the advanced chip sector.” It also cited some competitive tension from South Korea, especially by domestic firm Samsung, which has a stake in competitive fabs. Inspired by these responses, I decided to ask ChatGPT what each of these countries is doing to be first in AI: In terms of China’s efforts, the model returned these types of initiatives – national strategic planning, government funding and incentives, talent development, and research infrastructure, digital ecosystems and industrial collaboration, as well as military and security applications. Germany, on the other hand, is employing a national AI strategy, creating research and innovation hubs, leveraging public-private partnerships, building an ethical and regulatory framework, and promoting talent development. Then I asked about Russia. “Russia’s approach to becoming a leader in AI is more concentrated on strategic and military applications than on developing a broad consumer or industrial AI ecosystem,” the model said. ChatGPT returned the following items representing Russian efforts: State-led research and investment Military application applications Talent development and strategic partnerships Digital sovereignty In terms of India, ChatGPT cited a “multipronged strategy to leverage (the country’s) strong IT talent base and vibrant startup ecosystem.” Just for fun, I asked about Ecuador. “Ecuador isn’t yet positioned as a global AI leader,” ChatGPT returned, as you might expect it would for many of the countries not in the running for top AI hubs, “but the country is beginning to build its digital and innovation ecosystem with several key initiatives.” To me, the context here is interesting in a number of ways. You have the industry itself, which is large and constantly changing. But you have these national rivalries as well that are lurking in the background when it comes to understanding why things happen the way they do. Obviously, larger nations have a lot more heft when it comes to developing production initiatives, and everything else. But there are still lots of uncertainties in how all of this turns out. Keep an eye on the news for more of how the hardware sector operates as we move forward.