They really need to build their own fabs at this point. AI is going to kill their ASIC and DRAM supply chain if they don't.

"Real men have fabs." - Jerry Sanders, first CEO of AMD.

Actually, AMD, Nvidia, and Apple need to build their own fabs. Maybe Google, Amazon, and Meta too.

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trueno 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I always wonder if this is a possibility. They've worked so closely with TSMC that they've many times over the decade bankrolled R&D and equipment that TSMC uses. I would be super interested to know if that relationship has left them enough know-how of the fab process to someday control their destiny there, that would actually be pretty insane.

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dangus 43 minutes ago | parent [-]

Apple almost certainly has entire production lines at TSMC that they effectively own. I don’t really think bringing chip fabrication in-house has any immediate benefit for them.

We can observe with Apple’s pricing staying stable that they have some of the best supplier arrangements in the industry.

	▲	readitalready 23 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Apple doesn't own TSMC. TSMC is putting Apple in the back burner in favor of Nvidia and other high margin companies. They are literally being limited by TSMC (as well as the DRAM makers) because they don't have their own fabs.

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kushalpandya 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Perhaps something that Ternus can add to his legacy-building exercise, given that he led hardware.

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dangus an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

“They need their own fabs” is a very current events-biased read of the situation.

You can easily end up like AMD or Intel spending years with your own fab that’s uncompetitive.

One of the best things that ever happened to AMD was spinning off their fabs.

Intel only recently righted their ship after spending years with fabs that couldn’t keep up with competition, and even Panther Lake still contains some TSMC silicon.

The AI boom is inevitably not going to last forever. Either demand will subside or production will increase. High prices in tech rarely stick around.

	▲	readitalready 26 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		You can easily end up like AMD or Intel spending years with your own fab that’s uncompetitive. You could. Or you could have no fab and no supply of chips for your business.

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kilroy123 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Especially outside of Taiwan.