1 HN user recommended this explainer1 month2022–2023score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN points to it as an excellent history of how Japan entered chips, including government-coordinated cooperation like the VLSI project.
Asianometry traces the 30-year rise and peak of Japan's semiconductor industry from the 1950s to the 1980s, covering how a postwar country gained competence in an emerging technology.
Chip manufacturing is difficult, this reminds me of the Japanese entry into the semiconductor market. There is an excellent video on this for anyone interested in Japanese culture and the war against USA via semiconductors: [this video]
Japan's original chip industry lead was created by the government funding a bunch of also-rans to cooperate (and have each participant focus on one part of the job) instead of compete (where every team is spread too thin trying to do the whole hog) [this video]
Japan's government-coordinated cooperation among chip firms.
Japan did have the VLSI project a group of there largest companies: [this video] For Europe I could see a bigger group of companies, schools and researchers working towards open models with funding. This would allow EU companies to be competitive with the US while not duplicating effort, more eyes on the problem too. Maybe alignment work could be a goal, since the driver is not profit at any cost this time.
Japan's VLSI project grouping its largest companies.
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