Hacker Remix

Intel, TSMC tentatively agree to form chipmaking joint venture

78 points by pseudolus 21 hours ago | 21 comments

philistine 20 hours ago

Massive news. One cannot shake the idea that Taiwan is playing all the cards it can to protect it from invasion. This is one; ingratiating itself within the core of American production.

aurareturn 16 hours ago

Why would this help Taiwan stave off China's advance? Arguably, this makes it more likely.

robertlagrant 14 hours ago

Yes that's my take as well. It might be TSMC trying to survive, and America trying to deprive themselves of a future war to defend TSMC or China's inevitable taking of TSMC.

I don't see how it helps Taiwan that much, but perhaps it makes it less attractive to China to take if TSMC can move.

eagleislandsong 4 hours ago

> perhaps it makes it less attractive to China

Taiwan's semiconductor industry is literally not even a factor that plays into China's wish to reunify. It won't make a lick of difference.

philistine 6 hours ago

It makes it more likely that the US responds in kind to an invasion.

gotschi_ 20 hours ago

Oh god no please, no

TSMC is a perfectly fine company. Let them do their thing intel!

bgnn 14 hours ago

TSMC has a lot if joint ventures like this. They are quite good at cross contaminating with their own fabs.

xeonmc 12 hours ago

Don’t you mean cross-pollination?

poisonborz 15 hours ago

This reminds me of Adventure Time where Finn (US Government) tells a goose and a fox to "now kiss":

https://youtu.be/XHgyD6UesJo?feature=shared&t=94

rayiner 20 hours ago

Is there like a book or podcast on Intel’s downfall? As a 90s kid it seems unthinkable to me Intel would be dethroned so swiftly.

morgango 4 hours ago

Stratechery does an OUTSTANDING job covering Intel, TSMC, and chips.

https://stratechery.com/?s=intel

They were talking about this in 2013

https://stratechery.com/2013/the-intel-opportunity/

bfrog 8 hours ago

Its happened before to any company that focuses too hard on short term profits and gets too comfortable.

Motorola GE Boeing

The list goes on…

Tempest1981 19 hours ago

Chip War by Chris Miller is a great read, although not specifically Intel.

maxnevermind 17 hours ago

asianometry on YT

also stratechery had few articles over the years

chneu 7 hours ago

Asianometry rules. As someone who works in semiconductor research and manufacturing, his videos are crazy good.