Size never matters. Intent matters hugely! Just see TSMC and Samsung!!

Having spent a majority of my years in Southeast Asia, I have been surrounded by semiconductors since 1997. Today, I will dwell on two parts of the world where I have worked, and visited.

I am proud to say that I have personally witnessed how TSMC in Taiwan rose, and went on to become a global giant in semiconductors. Dr. Morris Chang is a Taiwanese-American businessman who built his career in the USA. He is the founder, and former chairman and CEO, of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in 1987. He is known as the founder of semiconductor industry in Taiwan. Also, Yuh-Jier Mii, senior VP of R&D, TSMC, remarked, “Growing up in Taiwan, the environment encouraged people to become scientists or engineers.”

Across the straits, or East China Sea, Dr. Kim Choong-Ki, now an emeritus professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), was the first professor in South Korea to systematically teach semiconductor engineering, starting 1975. 

Now, here's a very interesting statistic! The flight distance from Taipei to Seoul is about 1,500km. That brings me to flight distances. Did you know that Michigan to Taiwan is 12,000km, Texas to Taiwan is 12,000km, Taiwan to Malaysia is 3,200km, Malaysia to Munich is 9,700km, Munich to China is 7,700km, and China to California is 10,000km?

Ok, here is another very interesting statistic. If you drove by car from Taipei to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, it is about 355 km. Hey, that’s the same distance as driving from Delhi to Shimla! 

And, if you drove by car from Seoul to Jeju Islands, South Korea, that’s about 465 km. Hey, that’s nearly the same as driving from Delhi to Amritsar! 

Right!

That’s nearly all about the entire area covered by Taiwan and South Korea. Yes! That's just about the entire size of these two countries. Now, quantify this with the huge success they have had with semiconductors and memory! The result and lesson for everyone: Size never matters. Intent matters hugely!

Taiwan and South Korea have been the two leading and hugely successful countries in semiconductors. TSMC and Samsung have near total control of the leading-edge of semiconductor industry, with TSMC significantly ahead of Samsung. The situation where global production capabilities are concentrated in two countries, leads to geopolitical challenges. It contributes heavily to changes in global technopolitics. Geopolitical strength of the semiconductor industry is often referred to as Taiwan’s “Silicon Shield”.

Taiwan and South Korea have put their hearts into strategic semiconductor industry in the past, with limited resources. Due to strong capabilities in OEM wafer manufacturing and industry supply chain, Taiwan has been able to distinguish itself from competitors and dominate globally. Silicon on insulator (SoI) technology is a European success story, developed by Leti, and industrialized by many players in the ecosystem.