Five DatesLive channel

How Taiwan became the world's chipmaker

A research institute, a science park, a contract manufacturer and four decades of shrinking transistors.

· 1:12 · Narrated by Nora Lindqvist, technology correspondent (synthetic voice)

Transcript

  1. How did Taiwan become the world's chipmaker? In five dates.
  2. Most of the world's most advanced chips are made in Taiwan, by companies that build chips designed by others.
  3. Date one: nineteen seventy-three. The Industrial Technology Research Institute is founded.
  4. Date two: nineteen eighty. Hsinchu Science Park opens.
  5. Date three: nineteen eighty-seven. TSMC is founded, as the first dedicated contract chipmaker.
  6. A contract chipmaker, or foundry, makes chips for other companies, which design them but own no factories.
  7. The model let chip designers around the world grow, without building plants that now cost tens of billions of dollars each.
  8. Date four: twenty twenty. TSMC begins volume production at five nanometres.
  9. And date five: twenty twenty-two. Volume production begins at three nanometres.
  10. That's Five Dates, from The North China Times.

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