The struggle over chips enters a new phase
The age of their manufacture in China could be beginning
WHEN MICROCHIPS were invented in 1958, the first significant market for them was inside nuclear missiles. Today about a trillion chips are made a year, or 128 for every person on the planet. Ever more devices and machines contain ever more semiconductors: an electric car can have over 3,000 of them. New types of computation are booming, including artificial intelligence and data-crunching. Demand will soar further as more industrial machines are connected and fitted with sensors.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Betting all the chips”
From the January 23rd 2021 edition
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