• source https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/magazine/semiconductor-chips-us-china.html
  • archive https://archive.ph/s4Xvd
  • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    They were coping by saying it was a limited production run but Huawei just announced two more phones using the same chip so everything points to Huawei being able to make things at scale now.

    The only cope they have to fall back on is that the chip is "only" 7nm and is about 3 generations behind. 3 generations in chip terms is 2 or 3 years, and to go from absolutely nothing 2 years ago to only 2 or 3 years behind the state of the art is huge.

    Extra impressive since China had to build up all the surrounding industries like design software and lithograpy machines from nothing as well. By putting these sanctions on China, the US may have created the only country on earth that has complete vertical integration of chip manufacturing.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      Exactly, we see that western companies managed to go through these 3 generations in a few years, and there's no reason to expect that it's going to take China longer. If anything, I'm expecting China will be able to do it faster because the techniques for doing this are now known, and Chinese researchers know which approaches to pursue. Furthermore, nothing stops China from just hiring the researchers that were involved in developing western chips.

      And yeah, the fact that China managed to create this whole industry domestically effectively overnight is incredibly impressive.

    • davi [he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      By putting these sanctions on China, the US may have created the only country on earth that has complete vertical integration of chip manufacturing.

      I bet sanctions were the first step and I expect sabotage will soon start if it hasn't already

      • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
        ·
        1 year ago

        Depending on how conspiracy brained you are, there was a mysterious fire at ASML's factory that destroyed an EUV machine ordered by China right before the sanctions. Some people also say that there were a group of chip engineers bound for China on MH370.

    • TheCaconym [any]
      ·
      1 year ago

      and to go from absolutely nothing 2 years ago to only 2 or 3 years behind the state of the art is huge.

      It would have been described as impossible by most western "experts" barely months ago

      Hell, some of them are still coping and saying it is impossible