Let Freedom: Political News, Un-Biased, Lex Fridman, Joe Rogan, CNN, Fox News China Stealing U.S. CPU IP Exposed
Nov 24, 2025
The discussion dives into China's systematic theft of U.S. chip technology, unraveling how restricted designs and tools mysteriously make their way to China. It examines specific cases like the departure of an ASML engineer, leading to new Chinese firms allegedly built on stolen know-how. Smuggling operations for advanced GPUs and organized procurement tactics are revealed. The podcast warns of the geopolitical stakes involved and how tighter U.S. export controls may inadvertently escalate smuggling efforts, emphasizing the critical balance of global tech power.
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ASML Engineer Walked Out With Know-How
- In 2012 Zansheng Yu left ASML carrying the tacit know-how for EUV lithography, not just documents or parts.
- He reappeared in China as CEO of a state-backed ASML clone, illustrating corporate infiltration and talent extraction.
Offshoring Created Fragile Choke Points
- Offshoring manufacturing shifted American firms toward design while China studied those supply-chain dependencies.
- China exploited choke points by learning who made what and then stopped playing fair.
Absurd Smuggling Methods Exposed
- Smugglers literally taped hundreds of Intel CPUs to their bodies and hid GPUs in baby bumps and lobster crates to move restricted chips.
- These were low-level couriers in a much larger industrial procurement network moving thousands of chips.