TSMC founder Morris Chang again made the headlines by giving frank opinions on the semiconductor policy of the United States. But shrewd readers should definitely read between the lines. Basically, what he is saying is no need to spend big money to build chips in America just because of the fear of war, and the ecosystem for chip manufacturing, especially talents, matters.
The first three volumes of 'Inside Investor Relations' have focused on practical matters, such as identifying the different types of institutional investors and targeting investors. In this edition of Inside Investor Relations, we focus on an ESG-related topic that strikes at the very heart of why businesses are created. We ask the question, "Should purpose or profit be the key ambition of a company?"
AI, Big Data, Industry 4.0…by now we have already been familiar with these buzzwords defining the latest industrial revolution and technological progress. However, as the hardware and software industries increasingly overlap, few have begun to contemplate how the companies of the future will be built, especially with the digitalization of the real economies.
The US' bid to increase onshore chip production would be futile, as it would not be globally competitive and able to compete with TSMC, according to Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan-based pure-play foundry.
The entire battery recycling process chain begins with the collection. The EU Battery Directive ensures that it is mandatory to provide free collection of industrial and automotive batteries.
Apple has become a bellwether in the HPC chip segment by rolling out its high-performance M1 series built using advanced process at its foundry partner, but all other manufacturing segments in the semiconductor industry will also be gaining weight in the HPC era, according to Jim Hsiao, a senior analyst at DIGITIMES Research.
Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles (EV) and storage systems. However, these batteries have a limited lifespan and once they reach the end of their life, they need to be recycled.
For the past months, dozens of electric two-wheelers (E2W) catching fire have been reported in India, an implication that a less-developed local battery ecosystem could be a barrier to India's ever-increasing electric vehicle (EV) sales.
The semiconductor industry with a sophisticated division of labor has seen a rapid evolution over more than 60 years, during which the global capital market also has played a key role. The industry's development is a very complicated one, from either a political or economic point of view.
The post-pandemic world is unleashing a wave of digital transformation through a wide variety of sectors. Facing a series of supply chain bottlenecks, the industrial sector has also been gripped by this wave of digital transformation, especially when a series of bottlenecks induced by the pandemic and geopolitical factors have made it even more necessary to ensure more supply chain transparency and a higher level of resilience.
While Russian troops were bombing Ukraine, a US delegation led by Michael Glenn Mullen, ex-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, arrived in Taiwan, followed closely by a separate visit by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Taiwan has never received such high-profile attention since it withdrew from the UN 50 years ago. Some attribute the dramatic change to the blessings of Taiwan's "sacred mountain range" – the semiconductor firms that locals believe are protecting the country.
In 1848, Michael Faraday, an English scientist, published a study in the Philosophical Magazine about the use of gutta-perca (a milky white natural latex from a Southeast Asian tree called Palaquium gutta) as an electrical insulator. Since then, this material became the darling of the engineering world.
A significant advantage that India has in the semiconductor sector is the presence of several fast-growing fabless chip design startups. Either homegrown or with overseas investment, these new generation companies have been able to come up with solutions that promise to bring innovation to a wide range of verticals.
Earth Venture Capital, which invests in early-stage climate-tech startups and has just closed its debut fund recently, extended invitations to Taiwanese startups and universities with innovative and scalable digital solutions to help tackle the climate change crisis.