TSMC is working on similar things. At one time this research was shared amongst members of Sematech (which is the origin of the current NanoTech center in Alba

TSMC is working on similar things. At one time this research was shared amongst members of Sematech (which is the origin of the current NanoTech center in Albany where this work was done). But about 10 years ago, Sematech broke up as companies decided it was cheaper and more secure IP-wise to "go their own way" (Multinationals Going Their Own Way - or MGTOW ;-) so TSMC started doing their own R&D. This is a large part of why they are currently ahead of everyone else. https://www.sunypoly.edu/research/albany-nanotech-complex.html https://www.sunypoly.edu/research/albany-nanotech-complex.ht... The NanoTech Center currently is primarily a boutique R&D center for Global Foundries + IBM with other specific companies invited in as needed. But there is a "convergent evolution" to this kind of work because the laws of physics are not arbitrary nor are random directions of successful R&D possible - it's a constrained problem so even in independence, solutions will be similar because the physics problems that arise are the same and thus the solutions are going to "rhyme". TSMC is already doing something similar but the process design (the only part patentable) is different.