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Has any startup attempted to solve this problem by creating new chip making hardware? I know it takes years to even get one out the door but crazier moonshots
by cgb223 5y ago
Has any startup attempted to solve this problem by creating new chip making hardware?
I know it takes years to even get one out the door but crazier moonshots have been funded and the ROI potential to break up a relative monopoly must be huge
- hugh-avherald 5y agoIt's hard to think of any enterprise that would be less suitable for a startup.
- theli0nheart 5y agoIf a startup can build nuclear fission reactors or supersonic jets, it’s likely that a startup could do this too.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- q-big 5y ago> If a startup can build nuclear fission reactors or supersonic jets It still has to be proven that this can be done by a startup.
- theli0nheart 5y ago> It still has to be proven that this can be done by a startup. I am confused. What, exactly, has to be proven? Startups have already done both things [1] [2]. (also, correction from my op: s/fission/fusion) [1]: https://www.helionenergy.com https://www.helionenergy.com [2]: https://boomsupersonic.com https://boomsupersonic.com
- q-big 5y ago> Startups have already done both things Startups intend to do both things. ;-)
- theli0nheart 5y agoI might be misunderstanding, but hasn't Helion already built prototype reactors, that do produce energy through fusion?
- twarge 5y agoNot more energy than they put in. Just like every other fusion experiment.
- bell-cot 5y agoYou can categorize fusion reactors and experimental / prototype aircraft similarly: (1) "Our engines produce some thrust, and our wings produce some lift". (2) "We managed to take off and land!" (3) A working aircraft - seemingly performant, reliable, and economical enough that actual commercial airlines want to buy it. (4) Like (3), but you've made a bunch of 'em, delivered 'em to airlines, and they're in regular real-word use...without said airlines suffering from buyer's remorse. My understanding is that both Boom Supersonic, and everyone trying to invent a fusion reactor...are all still in category (1).
- ajsnigrutin 5y agoChip making is not a relatively-well documented software project with a bunch of people with knowledge available to get in the labour market Chip making is a bunch of very very very specialized equipment, a lot of real black magic, and a few people who actually know what they're doing. This makes it worth more to find existing, experienced manufacturers and try to get them to make more, than to reinvent a very complex wheel, with so much research involved, that the chip crises may be over, before the first devices reach production
- Spooky23 5y agoI worked in a facility that to great fanfare built an insane building to house a $200M+ tool. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and 3 years later, the tool was being hacked apart and hauled off by a caravan of scrapyard haulers.
- intricatedetail 5y agoTo be honest that sounds like a tax fiddle...
- whazor 5y agoNot impossible, but only if you focus on older generation chips. Next generation chip manufacturing is insanely expensive. EUV was already a moonshot that started in 1997 and is only really usable for production in 2019. Mainly invested by its customers where only two (TSMC, Samsung) succeeded in getting it ready for production, whereas others (who already paid) are still struggling. However, building slower chips might be more feasible. But note that in this space there are multiple competitors.
- throwaway4good 5y agoLarge amounts are being thrown at this to the benifit of startups and established companies ... in China. The US sanctions have created a unique market oppurtunity for companies that can make chips outside US control.