‘Every continent’ should have advanced chipmaking facilities, says ARM CEO

Every region of the world should have high-end semiconductor factories to avoid future supply-chain crunches, the CEO of ARM Holdings said. Speaking at Semafor World Economy, Rene Haas said that semiconductor shortages are holding back global industry, and that sales of ARM’s own new chip are constrained by manufacturing rather than demand.

China has focused on self-sufficiency for some years, and they are “making lots of headway,” he said. But the US and elsewhere have been slower to realize how important chips are. As it stands, only ASML in the Netherlands makes high-end chipmaking machines, and Taiwan’s TSMC makes more than 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors.

“The world needs global resiliency,” he said, urging “fabs on every continent … equipment makers on every continent.” He added: “It’s good hygiene to have supply-chain resiliency. Just the way countries would love to have their own energy sources, countries should have their own sources for chips.”