The Power and Politics of Chip Manufacturing

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This chapter explores the intricate world of chip manufacturing, emphasizing the evolution and significance of chips in computing processes. It discusses the scale and complexity involved in creating these tiny devices, highlighting the crucial role of Taiwan's TSMC in producing advanced processor chips. The conversation delves into the global competition and vulnerabilities surrounding semiconductor production, with a focus on key players like the US, China, and Taiwan.

Beneath the race to train and release more powerful AI models lies another race: a race by companies and nation-states to secure the hardware to make sure they win AI supremacy.

Correction: The latest available Nvidia chip is the Hopper H100 GPU, which has 80 billion transistors. Since the first commercially available chip had four transistors, the Hopper actually has 20 billion times that number. Nvidia recently announced the Blackwell, which boasts 208 billion transistors - but it won’t ship until later this year.

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