InstitutionClaim Cited
ITRI–TSMC semiconductor ecosystem
Taiwan used the Industrial Technology Research Institute to select, absorb, adapt, and transfer semiconductor technology before private firms could justify the full risk. UMC and TSMC converted that public learning into commercial organizations, while TSMC's dedicated foundry model let chip designers buy manufacturing without competing against the manufacturer. The resulting network accumulated exceptional capability, but its concentration also places workforce, infrastructure, water, energy, and geopolitical risks on actors whose outcomes are less fully documented than the industrial success.
How can a late-industrializing economy absorb difficult technology, convert it into firms, and keep the resulting ecosystem learning at the frontier?