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I've been to a number of big construction sites for business purposes. When I hear, "this is a $40 million dollar project" and when I see all these workmen, equipment and materials moving around, I think, so this is what $40 million dollars in motion looks like.
> Similarly, a fab will use very large amounts of ultrapure water for wafer cleaning and CMP, along with the regular water for things like chillers for process cooling. A large fab can use millions of gallons of ultrapure water a day, as much as a town of 50,000 people, and producing it requires its own specialized plant.
This is wild. All of this water so companies can create chips that will ultimately be used to …
pump out “advanced” chat bots.
I really hope all of this sacrifice is worth it in the end. Climate change is accelerating the loss of drinkable water around the planet.
If the best we could do is a slightly better chat bot, then we are doomed.
At what point will current fabrication plants reach their limit? Is it a supply issue? Or maybe a resource constraint? > Similarly, a fab will use very large amounts of ultrapure water for wafer cleaning and CMP, along with the regular water for things like chillers for process cooling. A large fab can use millions of gallons of ultrapure water a day, as much as a town of 50,000 people, and producing it requires its…
The big scary sounding number at the input has a big number at the output.
Not to mention that up to 98 percent of the water is reused on site. It just gets cleaned and goes back into facility. It’s a big loop, not an input disappearing into a parallel universe.
Somewhat related: a high school student creating his own semiconductor fav in his parent’s garage on a "budget". https://youtube.com/watch?v=IS5ycm7VfXg It’s a thoroughly interesting video, but I’m a bit disappointed he never took his idea any further than he did. I’d really love to see something like a 6502 being made at home.
Sam is now building Atomic Semi [0] with Jim Keller (ex AMD) [0] https://atomicsemi.com/about/#:~:text=general%20fabrication%...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
TSMC has moved many engineers from Taiwan to Phoenix. Entire towns were built with accomodation, schools, ethnic grocery stores from scratch. It would be interesting to see this initiative's cultural and economic impact on Phoenix in the years to come.
I did not know this, I have family in Tempe close by. Do you have any references I can pass along to them?
> With Taiwanese transplants moving to north Phoenix in droves, Arizona officials — and a local baker — are working behind the scenes to make them feel welcome
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TSMC has moved many engineers from Taiwan to Phoenix. Entire towns were built with accomodation, schools, ethnic grocery stores from scratch. It would be interesting to see this initiative's cultural and economic impact on Phoenix in the years to come.
I did not know this, I have family in Tempe close by. Do you have any references I can pass along to them?
I've been to a number of big construction sites for business purposes. When I hear, "this is a $40 million dollar project" and when I see all these workmen, equipment and materials moving around, I think, so this is what $40 million dollars in motion looks like.
Much of that money goes to permitting, admin, and insurance. What you’re seeing is probably the $10-20 million that wasn’t successfully siphoned off by bureaucrats.
At what point will current fabrication plants reach their limit? Is it a supply issue? Or maybe a resource constraint? > Similarly, a fab will use very large amounts of ultrapure water for wafer cleaning and CMP, along with the regular water for things like chillers for process cooling. A large fab can use millions of gallons of ultrapure water a day, as much as a town of 50,000 people, and producing it requires its…
This is always so funny to me. Oh, something that can make enough chips for millions/billions of devices also uses as much water as a small town? That sounds perfectly reasonable. Don't build it in the middle of the desert, I guess, but otherwise it's not a problem.
At what point will current fabrication plants reach their limit? Is it a supply issue? Or maybe a resource constraint? > Similarly, a fab will use very large amounts of ultrapure water for wafer cleaning and CMP, along with the regular water for things like chillers for process cooling. A large fab can use millions of gallons of ultrapure water a day, as much as a town of 50,000 people, and producing it requires its…
Ignoring Alphafold, moderna partnering with openai, the new class of antibiotics, etc etc. There's a lot more to ai than chat bots. That's a disingenuous reduction.
I agree that it's a bold bet though, burning how many ever billions a year on the hope that ai can help us solve medicine and fusion and climate change.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Much of that money goes to permitting, admin, and insurance. What you’re seeing is probably the $10-20 million that wasn’t successfully siphoned off by bureaucrats.
I don't know why you're being downvoted. There is a reason why development volume across states is asymmetric.