DTN 064: Don't Fear China's Chipmaking Binge

Plus: SpaceX launches Starship and brings it back, the Thousand Brains project, an LLM runs for mayor in Wyoming, new night vision technology, and more.

"I've seen so many former NASA, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and SpaceX people go into aviation and aerospace startups in just the last two or three years. Based on the caliber of founders now in space innovation and commercial aviation, I think the next 20 years are going to be remarkable. There will be new companies built at the scale of Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and others."

The Big Picture

“Chinese chipmakers are in a tough spot. In October 2022 America’s government restricted the export to China of advanced chips and chipmaking gear made using American intellectual property—which is to say virtually all such devices. This makes it near-impossible for Chinese firms to produce leading-edge microprocessors, the kind whose transistors measure a few nanometres (billionths of a metre) across and which power the latest artificial-intelligence models. But it does not stop them cranking out less advanced chips, with transistor sizes measured in tens of nanometres, of the sort that are needed in everything from televisions and thermostats to refrigerators and cars. As a consequence, semiconductor companies from China increasingly dominate chipmaking’s lagging edge. They account for more than half of all planned expansion in global manufacturing capacity for mature chips. This has alarmed Western policymakers. Still, fears that this threatens the security of the West’s supply chains may be misplaced. Although Chinese chipmakers rival foreign makers of mature semiconductors in manufacturing, they are still outmatched when it comes to design, engineering and product reliability. More surprisingly, Chinese foundries are also at a cost disadvantage.” (Economist)

Deep Tech News

JPEG of the Week

The Chang'e-6 lander, topped with an ascent vehicle, imaged by a small rover in Apollo crater on the lunar far side.

China's Chang'e-6 mission successfully collected lunar samples from the far side of the moon and launched them into orbit for return to Earth. The samples, expected to land in Inner Mongolia around June 25, could provide insights into lunar history and the early solar system. This mission is part of China's broader lunar program, which aims for crewed missions and a permanent lunar base. (via SpaceNews)

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The Deep Tech Agency.

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