Kirk here. Today I’d like to share something that is tangentially related to Kumamoto (TSMC specifically) and something I think is just plain amazing, regardless of whether or not it’s connected to Kumamoto. First of all, if you are like me until recently, you may not know that Nvidia is the third largest tech company in the world as measured by market capitalization. That puts it ahead of Google and Amazon!!
Graphic source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1350976/leading-tech-companies-worldwide-by-market-cap/
What does this relatively unknown giant do? Well, according to Wikipedia, it is a “software and fabless company which designs and supplies graphics processing units (GPUs).”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia
It’s become a huge company because those wonky GPUs are what make the AI revolution we’re experiencing now possible. And, something I find to be even more amazing is that Nvidia doesn’t even actually make its main product – it designs the chips and has companies like TSMC manufacture them on its behalf.
With TSMC, I’m finally approaching the tangential connection to Kumamoto. Today, I found the following article in my “Kumamoto” feed:
Nvidia Joins Forces with Japan’s Tech Institute for Hybrid Supercomputer Project https://www.tradingview.com/news/benzinga:390ce3c6f094b:0-nvidia-joins-forces-with-japan-s-tech-institute-for-hybrid-supercomputer-project/
The article mentions TSMC in the context of Japan’s desire to produce chips here in Japan, rather than relying on foreign sources. The Nvidia connection ends there, though, at least for now. The kinds of chips to be produced here are logic chips – not the GPUs relied upon by ChatGPT and other AI companies.
Still, I think the relationship between TSMC and Nvidia is interesting and provides some context for understanding the significance of what’s happening here in Kumamoto. “TSMC’s dominance owes much to its now-retired founder, Morris Chang, who pioneered a model which separated producing chips from designing them.” Nvidia, on the other hand, is the most successful example of a company specializing in design and letting TSMC actually build stuff for it.
Source of last quote: https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/tsmcs-most-complex-engineering-task-is-itself-2024-04-03/