Chidi Chidambaram on industrial policy
From 2023 ERI Summit: International Supply Chain (Chidambaram) · · DARPAtv
“We could invest the dollars into a 450 millimeter wafer technology — the equipment industry doesn't like this idea because they would have to invest a lot and it would take 15–20 years to recover the cost, but if there's government investment that might be an interesting idea to consider.”
On , Chidi Chidambaram, Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm, spoke about industrial policy during 2023 ERI Summit: International Supply Chain (Chidambaram) on DARPAtv.
About Chidi Chidambaram
At the 2023 ERI Summit, Qualcomm Vice President of Engineering Dr. PR "Chidi" Chidambaram discussed semiconductor supply chain challenges. He stated that the electronics industry has shifted from producing thousands of units to billions, with a modern smartphone containing about 70 components. Chidambaram noted that 50% of worldwide wafer capacity for legacy logic planar technology is located in China, as companies in the United States migrated to newer nodes rather than maintaining older capacity. He said that Qualcomm considers supply resilience a core aspect of chip design and attempts to multi-source and balance sourcing from different geographies based on market sales. Chidambaram highlighted the industry's vulnerability to disruptions in Taiwan, stating that a power outage there could cost Qualcomm $4 billion and the industry nearly $50 billion, with flooding in Hsinchu potentially costing $21 billion and an earthquake up to $50 billion. He also suggested that government investment in 450-millimeter wafer technology could be an interesting idea, though he noted the equipment industry is reluctant due to high investment costs and a 15–20 year recovery period.