Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, was initially a mechanical engineer who self-studied electrical engineering and eventually rose through the ranks to become the general manager of a division at Texas Instruments. He then moved to Taiwan and helped establish the semiconductor industry there, eventually founding TSMC in 1987. Under Chang's leadership, TSMC became the world's largest semiconductor foundry, and he is considered a pioneer in the industry.
Takeaways
• TSMC's pricing power and market share give it strong profit margins.
• Morris Chang focused on innovation, built strong relationships with tech companies, and aggressively expanded capacity, leading to TSMC's dominance.
• TSMC's success was built on its unique business model and the high costs required to compete.
• TSMC's success is due to factors such as scale economies, switching costs, and network economies.
• TSMC's geopolitical risks stem from its location in Taiwan.
• Intel's decline was caused by indecision about outsourcing manufacturing, failure to commercialize EUV lithography, and inability to keep up with innovation.
• TSMC is likely in the top ten most successful technology companies of all time.
