TSMC was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang, who at the time had been a tech executive at Texas Instruments for almost three decades. The company has grown up alongside a new set of semiconductor design firms that previously didn't exist because there weren't companies like TSMC that manufactured chips. They've never had to build their own manufacturing facilities because TSMC handles all the cost and understands all the manufacturing technology so they don't have to worry about it. And that's been a very effective business model both for TSMC but also for US chip design firms that have always been TSMC's largest customers.
Today we’re bringing you an episode on chips. No, not potato chips. Kevin has been pitching an episode on the truly fascinating world of chips and semiconductors for quite a while, but our friends at the The Ezra Klein Show got to it first. This week on Hard Fork: Ezra Klein’s engrossing conversation with historian Chris Miller. It’s a must listen. Thank you to Ezra for beating us in our quest for a great chips episode.
We'll be back with our regularly scheduled tech coverage, with Kevin and Casey next week.