This was a comprehensive deep dive into semiconductors’ history post-WWII, up to the current “chip war” between China and the US. A few high-level takeaways:
- Semiconductors have been linked with national security from the beginning of the industry, including the Cold War with Russia, our semi-trade war with Japan in the 80s, and now with China
- It is an incredibly sophisticated and complex industry but I was impressed to learn how dominant the US is across every aspect of the supply chain. I didn’t realize how much TSMC and ASML were dependent on US-based software and technology. This enabled a quite crippling attack on Huawei a few years back that China is still recovering from
- While Moore’s law has described the innovation cycles in this industry for a long time (even though it has slowed a bit) I don’t think I appreciated how much the industry is constantly pushing the edges of possibility with every cycle — inventing new things and new solutions every time.
I did the audiobook which was quite a long listen but it has many mini stories which made it easy to digest.
I keep track of all my favorite books on Asia here.