Selina Deckelman (3:03)

Wikipedia, it's weathered many changes in user behavior and major changes in search in the Internet in the past. Some of your listeners, they might remember when Google first launched the knowledge panels. That was in 2012. That resulted in a significant reduction in traffic to Wikipedia. And Wikipedia contributors who have a great sense of humor, they created a page called Predictions of the End of Wikipedia that catalogs the many changes to the Internet that people have said will cause Wikipedia to fail. So the approach of the foundation is to work very closely with our volunteers who have established a successful model of both content creation and article production that we have today. And we recently collaborated to produce some smaller scale viral videos on TikTok, part of a strategy that brings our creators to platforms that they might not otherwise go to to talk about their work. We also are investing in the on platform search experience, which, you know, I think it can be pretty easily adapted to be more natural language or chatbot like without sacrificing accuracy. But I just say like over 25 years we've stayed relevant through many tech shifts, smartphones, social media and streaming to name a few. And we've remained one of the most visited websites in the world because we have continued to be a regular destination for people who are seeking information.

Isabel Bousquet (4:34)

That was TNB producer Julie Chang speaking with Selena Deckelman, the Wikimedia Foundation's Chief product and technology officer. Have you been using Wikipedia more or less since the emergence of AI chatbots? If you're a listener on Spotify, let us know in this episode's comments. Coming up, why Taiwanese chip giant TSMC is betting big on a US Expansion that's after the break.

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Isabel Bousquet (5:42)

TSMC has emerged as the world's dominant manufacturer of the high performance computing chips designed by Nvidia, Apple and others that are critical for running AI data centers. In its latest blockbuster earnings report this week, TSMC said it plans to spend a record of up to $56 billion this year to feed the world's insatiable appetite for chips. And now the $1.7 trillion company is planning for a massive manufacturing expansion. And in the US the move comes as part of a new trade deal between the US And Taiwan, but also raises questions about the resiliency of its Taiwanese operations amid geopolitical tensions with China. WSJ reporter Amrith Ramkmar joins us now to break down the reasons behind the expansion and what it means for American AI giants. Amrith, why is TSMC expanding in the.

Amrith Ramkumar (6:39)

US That's a really good question and it's a widely debated topic why TSMC is putting so much money into the US A lot of people say they're trying to be closer to its biggest customers like Apple and Nvidia and they want to be protected in case China decides to invade Taiwan. Other people say this is just how businesses operate. Right. There's a lot of risk in Taiwan potentially if everything you have, all your advanced factories, the that do the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing are on this small island. So it's a big debate about is this a big picture push for the company out of Taiwan or is this just some seeds being planted elsewhere in sort of normal course of business? At the same time, they're also trying to develop a presence in the United Arab Emirates. They just opened a fab in Japan. They're constructing one in Germany. And that is a big deal for the global economy. So that dynamic and that debate will be really interesting to watch moving forward. What are TSMC's true intentions here and is this a long term shift in strategy?

Isabel Bousquet (7:47)

Tell us a little bit about what the scope of the expansion is. How much money are they putting in here and what are they building with it?

Amrith Ramkumar (7:54)

They're investing at least a few hundred billion dollars in Arizona. And so some of this was already planned. They were expected to have around eight facilities in Arizona and now that will be up to dozen. And they're also in the coming years going to be bringing their currently most advanced production process, the 2 nanometer production process, over to Arizona. So that's also seen as a big win for the US after the government gave them billions of dollars in subsidies to build out this presence in Arizona and begged them to come so the US Wouldn't be fully dependent on overseas manufacturing. So it is a significant investment. The interesting part of this is it's part of a trade deal between the U.S. and Taiwan where Taiwan has said we'll invest over $300 billion or so in the U.S. that agreement is expected to be finalized later this month in the coming weeks. But TSMC's investment is the majority of that 300 billion. And a lot of TSMC's investment had already been planned. And this is where you get into this interesting dynamic where you have the Trump administration asking everyone around the world to invest more in the US and these companies that already had plans to invest a lot in the us it's not clear what's new here and what was already in TSMC's plans.

Isabel Bousquet (9:11)

And so for a long time people have felt like TSMC is so crucial to the global economy that China wouldn't invade them and that if they did, the US would intervene. Is that still the common thinking?

Amrith Ramkumar (9:25)

Yes. This is a huge debate now that TSMC is doing more outside Taiwan. Is the so called Silicon Shield you're talking about that keeps the peace there? Is that still in place? It's really like a 5050 split. Some people say that it's fracturing, it's changing a lot with all of these other fabs overseas and their plans and China developing its own capabilities. A lot of other people say though the Silicon Shield is Alive and well, TSMC's most dominant processes, its most advanced capabilities are still in Taiwan. Advanced research and development still in Taiwan, the talent pool still in Taiwan. Neither China nor the US want to tank their respective economies by messing that.

Isabel Bousquet (10:06)

Do we know how long it would take before TSMC could have a meaningful manufacturing presence outside of Taiwan?

Amrith Ramkumar (10:14)

It depends what you mean by meaningful. So they will definitely have a solid presence in the US and Arizona. Like they will have several fabs up and running at meaningful capacity in the next few years. That meaningful presence will still be a tiny fraction of their overall production globally and in Taiwan. So that's why the timeline questions are a bit tricky. But they are going to be investing a lot starting soon. They are still like opening the fabs that have been under construction that were funded with the 2022 Chips act and they could get more support for that down the road too. It is a meaningful deal for the US and these places that have zero capacity to go from zero to a meaningful amount of chips being constructed there.

Isabel Bousquet (10:58)

From the people you talk to, what was the thinking on how much of a role does the risk of a Chinese invasion play play in TSMC's decision to expand?

Amrith Ramkumar (11:10)

People said generally it's probably like a small to medium factor. Again, when you're talking about China potentially invading Taiwan. That has so many different geopolitical implications, other implications beyond semiconductors. There are other risks too. There are earthquakes. There are other things that could happen in Taiwan that could really create challenges for TSMC and the economy. So definitely a part of the conversation. But it's hard to parse out. Like what percentage is that versus other factors and normal course of business.

Isabel Bousquet (11:41)

That was WSJ reporter Amrith Ramkumar. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to take this episode's poll or leave us a comment. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang. I'm your host, Isabel Bousquet. Additional support this week from Anthony Bancey, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavalle wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Katie Ferguson. Jessica Fenton is our technical manager. Our development producer is Aisha Al Muslim. Chris Zinsley is the deputy editor and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of News Audio. We'll be back later this morning with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

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