Intel's former CEO Pat Gelsinger claims that TSMC's investment in the US will not benefit the nation's chipmaking abilities at all, given that R&D will remain confined to Taiwan.
Pat Gelsinger Says US Chip Leadership Lies In An "IP Transfer" By TSMC, Which Looks Uncertain For Now
Well, Gelsinger has recently been making pretty interesting comments on the industry's situation, and it looks like Team Blue's former CEO isn't optimistic about TSMC's expansion in the US. According to The Financial Times, Pat Gelsinger claimed that the Taiwan giant's plans to invest $100 billion in the US to expand chip production won't actually lead the country into a leadership role, given that the core technology will still remain in Taiwan. In short, Gelsinger believes that technology transfer is a "must" for the US to be the dominant force.
If you don’t have R&D in the US, you will not have semiconductor leadership in the US. All of the R&D work of TSMC is in Taiwan, and they haven’t made any announcements to move that.
Unless you’re designing the next-generation transistor technology in the US, you do not have leadership in the US.
- Pat Gelsinger
Gelsinger claimed that Trump's tariffs have been "incrementally beneficial," as they will indeed bolster in-house chip production, given that they have prompted companies like TSMC to set up facilities in the region. However, in order for the US to achieve "leadership status" in the chip industry, companies like TSMC must shift their R&D facilities in the region, but this looks highly unlikely for now, given that the Taiwanese government is strictly against a technology transfer.
However, claiming that TSMC's investment won't involve R&D allocation isn't accurate here, since, according to the firm's press release, the Taiwan giant plans to open up a "major R&D center" in the US, which means that in the longer term, there would be progress in the US's capability to control advanced chip technologies. It is a question of how TSMC-US plans evolve into the future, given that with geopolitical tensions in Taiwan, the world needs an alternate supply chain.
