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22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

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Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#21

Post by DontchaKnowit »

brailsafe wrote: post #5
SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #4

It really is wild what you can do in your garage these days. Since the early 2010’s there has been a true revolution in this space that has only accelerated over the last few years. I have an injection molding machine that I built in my garage for less than $1500 USD that has a 3 cubic inch injection volume, able to make a large variety of plastic components at small production scale using a mold I printed from my $5…

I wonder where I could get the salary needed to have a garage, seems like that's the important bit ;)

Live somewhere cheaper and you can make enough to have a garage by painting houses or mowing lawns.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#23

Post by georgeburdell »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #4

It really is wild what you can do in your garage these days. Since the early 2010’s there has been a true revolution in this space that has only accelerated over the last few years. I have an injection molding machine that I built in my garage for less than $1500 USD that has a 3 cubic inch injection volume, able to make a large variety of plastic components at small production scale using a mold I printed from my $5…

I would be interested to know more about that “etching wafers on his desktop CNC”

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#24

Post by dleslie »

ccorcos wrote: post #22
mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #6

Indeed. The hardest part these days is getting access to a garage.

I’m constantly surprised how tech folks seem to undervalue the suburbs.

Most American suburbs are awful if you enjoy any sort of regular physical activity, and simply prefer to walk to the market instead of drive.

They're amazing if you love sitting in traffic.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#25

Post by georgeburdell »

fragmede wrote: post #20
xyzzy123 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he is etching wafers on his desktop CNC Wait do you mean etching wafers, or milling PCBs? One of those things you listed is not like the others.

Given the linked article is about a 22 year old making a 1,500 transistor IC, etching wafers for a 40 year old with a FAANG salary doesn't seem that far fetched! It'd have to be a really clean garage tho

I think the CNC part is what’s interesting. A wet etch, or even a plasma etcher, is conceivable in a garage and are the traditional tools of the trade.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#26

Post by ip26 »

sadhorse wrote: post #16
ykl wrote: post #14

If you are wondering what Sam Zeloof is up to these days: he founded Atomic Semi [1] with Jim Keller (yes, _that_ Jim Keller). [1] https://atomicsemi.com/

Quite hard to grasp what they are really trying to achieve there. They are building what kind of tools, and for whom?

Some past discussion suggested there was an opportunity for very low volume production at much lower cost because the method doesn't use masks.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#27

Post by saturn8601 »

ykl wrote: post #14

If you are wondering what Sam Zeloof is up to these days: he founded Atomic Semi [1] with Jim Keller (yes, _that_ Jim Keller). [1] https://atomicsemi.com/

Looking at their careers page the typical salary is $100,000 – $170,000 for SF. Seems a little low for SF no? Is this an indication that they are not well funded or going to have issues finding top tier people?

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#28

Post by xw3098 »

ip26 wrote: post #26
sadhorse wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite hard to grasp what they are really trying to achieve there. They are building what kind of tools, and for whom?

Some past discussion suggested there was an opportunity for very low volume production at much lower cost because the method doesn't use masks.

There’s no way it’s lower cost. However what it could be is guaranteed line capacity and delivery dates. And if you’re doing small orders from a large foundry you don’t get that. Those things have value too and someone might be willing to pay a bit extra to get them.

My main issue is semiconductor lines are fragile beasts that need constant tinkering. So if the system requires full time staff to keep running, that’s going to be really expensive.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#29

Post by xw3098 »

saturn8601 wrote: post #27
ykl wrote: post #14

If you are wondering what Sam Zeloof is up to these days: he founded Atomic Semi [1] with Jim Keller (yes, _that_ Jim Keller). [1] https://atomicsemi.com/

Looking at their careers page the typical salary is $100,000 – $170,000 for SF. Seems a little low for SF no? Is this an indication that they are not well funded or going to have issues finding top tier people?

Process development is closer to chemical engineering and that’s not bad when compared with their salary.

Re: 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage (2022)

#30

Post by OccamsMirror »

DontchaKnowit wrote: post #21
brailsafe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder where I could get the salary needed to have a garage, seems like that's the important bit ;)

Live somewhere cheaper and you can make enough to have a garage by painting houses or mowing lawns.

Not in Australia. Even rural is expensive.
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