> SMIC was advertising that it had found a way to produce more advanced chips using dated equipment. It would take longer than Huawei’s previous supplier, Taiwa

> SMIC was advertising that it had found a way to produce more advanced chips using dated equipment. It would take longer than Huawei’s previous supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, it would cost more, and it might not work. The article makes it clear that there is no verifiable info on if success came through legitimate use of older technology or outright stealing. But given (a) the pace of change and (b) the financial focus on leading edge technique, seems very possible there is just lots of room for improvement on older processes and this situation provided the need and the financial backing to make it happen.