Geopolitics & Trade · Supply chains
Taiwan, chips & the AI supply chain
Why a small island 160 km off China sits at the center of the AI economy.
Step 1 of 4 · Overview15 min read ·
Design
Nvidia, Apple, AMD (US)
Equipment
ASML lithography (Netherlands)
Fabrication
TSMC (Taiwan)
Packaging
Taiwan, Asia
Your GPU
AI data centers
TSMC manufactures the large majority of the world's most advanced chips, including most AI accelerators. The Taiwan Strait is ~160 km wide, putting that capacity close to rising geopolitical tension.
Key idea
Markets: any Taiwan Strait news moves semiconductor stocks globally. That's why the US CHIPS Act (2022) funds fabs on US soil.Next: Practice