Daily Archives: January 3, 2022

Marissa Giustina, a researcher with Google's quantum computer lab, draws a diagram showing "quantum supremacy" as only an early step on a path of quantum computer progress.

After years of development, quantum computers reached a level of sophistication in 2021 that emboldened commercial customers to begin dabbling with the radical new machines. Next year, the business world may be ready to embrace them more enthusiastically.

BMW is among the manufacturing giants that sees the promise of the machines, which capitalize on the physics of the ultrasmall to soar over some limits of conventional computers. Earlier this month, the German auto giant chose four winners in a contest it hosted with Amazon to spotlight ways the new technology could help the automaker.

The carmaker found quantum computers have potential to optimize the placement of sensors on cars, predict metal deformation patterns and employ AI in quality checks.

"We at the BMW Group are convinced that future technologies such as quantum computing have the potential to make our products more desirable and sustainable," Peter Lehnert, who leads BMW's research group, said in a statement.

BMW isn't alone in its determination to evaluate the practical application of quantum computers. Aerospace giant Airbus, financial services company PayPal and consumer electronics maker LG Electronics are among the commercial businesses looking to use the machines to refine materials science, streamline logistics and monitor payments.

For years, researchers worked on quantum computers as more or less conceptual projects that take advantage of qubits, data processing elements that can hold more than the two states that are handled by transistors found in conventional computers. Even as they improved, quantum computers were best suited for research projects, some as basic as figuring out how to program the exotic machines. But at the current rate of progress, they'll soon become powerful enough to tackle computing jobs out of reach of conventional computers.

Like cloud computing before it, quantum computing will be a service that most corporations rent from other companies. The rigs require constant attention and are notoriously fiddly. Though more work is required to tap their full potential, quantum computers are becoming more and more stable, a development that's helping corporations overcome initial hesitance.

Georges-Olivier Reymond, chief executive of startup Pasqal, says the progress is turning around skeptics who previously viewed quantum computing as a fantasy. A few years ago, employees at large corporations would roll their eyes when he brought up the subject, but that's changed, Reymond says.

"Now each time I talk to them I have a positive answer," Reymond said. "They are ready to engage."

One new customer is European defense contractor Thales, which is interested in quantum computing applications in sensors and communications. "Pasqal's quantum processors can efficiently address large size problems that are completely out of reach of classical computing systems," Thales Chief Technology Officer Bernhard Quendtsaid in a statement.

Of course, quantum computing is still a tiny fraction of the traditional computing market, but it's growing fast. About $490 million was spent on quantum computers, software and services in 2021, Hyperion Research analyst Bob Sorensen said at the Q2B conference held by quantum computing software company QC Ware in December. He expects spending to grow by 22% to $597 million in 2022 and at an average of 26% a year through 2024. By comparison, spending on conventional computing is expected to rise 4% in 2021 to $3.8 trillion, Gartner analysts predict.

The growing commercial activity is notable given that using a quantum computer costs $3,000 to $5,000 per hour, according to Jean-Francois Bobier, an analyst at Boston Consulting Group. A conventional, high-performance computer hosted on a cloud service costs a half penny for the same amount of time.

Analysts say the real spending on quantum computing will start when the industry tackles error correction, a solution to the vexing problem of easily perturbed qubits that derail calculations. The fidelity of a single computing step on the most advanced machines is around 99.9%, leaving a degree of flakiness that makes a raw quantum computing calculation unreliable. As a result, quantum computers have to run the same calculation many times to provide confidence that the answer is correct.

Once error correction is mature, the revenue generated through quantum computing will explode, according to Boston Consulting Group. With today's machines, that value will likely total between $5 billion and $10 billion by 2025, according to the consultancy's estimates. Once error corrected machines arrive, the total could leap forward to hit $450 billion to $850 billion by 2040.

Software and services that hide the complexity of quantum computers also will boost usage. IonQ CEO Peter Chapman predicts that in 2022, developers will be able to easily train their AI models with quantum computers. "You don't need to know anything about quantum," Chapman said. "You just give it the data set and it spits back a model."

Among the signs of commercial interest:

Quantum computers today are more of a luxury than a necessity. But with their potential to transform materials science, shipping, financial services and product design, it's not a surprise companies like BMW are investing. The automaker stands to benefit from knowing better how materials will deform in a crash or training its vehicles' vision AI faster. Though quantum computers might not produce a payoff this year or next, there's a cost to missing out on the technology once it matures.

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Quantum computers are on the path to solving bigger problems for BMW, LG and others - CNET

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Nutanix CEO says growth in cloud computing will continue in 2022 | CNBC News - Oakland News Now

DUBLIN, Dec. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Digital Transformation Market by Technology (Cloud Computing, Big Data and Analytics, Mobility/Social Media, Cybersecurity, AI, and IoT), Deployment Type, Organization Size, Vertical (BFSI, Retail, Education), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The digital transformation market size to grow from USD 521.5 billion in 2021 to USD 1247.5 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.1% during the forecast period. Various factors such as increasing spending on marketing and advertising activities by enterprises, changing landscape of customer intelligence to drive the market, and proliferation of customer channels are expected to drive the adoption of digital transformation technologies and services.

Digital transformation is the outcome of changes that occur with the application of digital technologies. The use of digital transformation across business and organizational activities, processes, competencies, and business models leverages the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their impact on society. Digital transformation helps enterprises improve the customer experience, optimize the workforce, enhance operational activities, and transform the products and services of the organization. The evolution of digital technologies, such as cloud computing, big data and analytics, mobility/social media, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and cybersecurity, has created the need for digitalization across several industries. These technologies are used by enterprises to improve or add more features to their traditional business processes while also helping enhance customer relationships.

The on-premises segment to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

By deployment mode, the digital transformation market has been segmented into on-premises and cloud. The CAGR of the on-premises deployment mode is estimated to be the largest during the forecast period. On-premises solutions are deployed with a one-time license fee and an annual service agreement, which includes free upgrades after a specified time. On-premises software solutions are depreciable assets and are affordable for companies that have the budget to make the initial investment.

The SMEs segment to hold higher CAGR during the forecast period.

The digital transformation market has been segmented by organization size into large enterprises and SMEs. The market for SMEs is expected to register a higher CAGR during the forecast period. These enterprises are early adopters of digital transformation solutions. They are faced with the troublesome task of effectively managing security because of the diverse nature of IT infrastructure, which is complex in nature.

Among regions, APAC is to hold the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

APAC is expected to grow at a good pace during the forecast period. Security spending in APAC is increasing significantly due to the ever-growing threat landscape. Traditional methods are no longer adequate for advanced digitalization. Hence, digital transformation vendors in this region focus on innovations related to their product line. China, Japan, and India have displayed ample growth opportunities in the digital transformation market.

Market Overview

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Challenges

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/m1vi9v

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Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected]

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Insights on the Digital Transformation Market Global Market to 2026 - Featuring Accenture, Equinix, Google and Oracle Among Others - PRNewswire

Edge computing predictions are crucial for organizations in Industry 4.0

Edge computing is gaining momentum in Industry 4.0 with its effective data management with cutting-edge technologies. It is expected that the global edge computing market will reach US$10.9 billion in 2022 with a CAGR of 14%. If organizations follow the upcoming edge computing trends, there will be more sophisticated use cases across the world. Predictions of edge computing are crucial to know for cloud service providers to offer edge data centres. Lets explore some of the top edge computing predictions to look out for in 2022.

One of the top edge computing predictions is the unity of information technology and operational technology through edge computing. IoT devices are embedded with an edge to allow data collection and processing for effective data management to be immediately put to use. Industries will start embracing edge systems to bridge the gap between IT and OT in Industry 4.0.

An upcoming edge computing trend is filtering edge data to use smarter sensors for more processing at the edge. Sensors are known for delivering real-time data about model performances. Thus, by filtering edge data, organizations can create a breakthrough in performances to gain a competitive edge in the global market.

The emergence of new applications and use cases with edge computing is one of the top predictions of edge computing. There will be hybrid edge models to deliver functionalities with more flexibility and resilience. There are forward-thinking IT leaders ready to leverage edge computing with new advanced applications to combat privacy issues, trade-offs of latency, and many more.

2022 is the year to have breaking news in edge computing first edge computing start-up unicorn. Multiple edge computing start-ups are emerging as they have identified and grabbed the opportunity in this field. There are multiple investors who are investing millions of dollars in different Series rounds in these start-ups. Achieving success, yielding high revenues, and nabbing investments can make the first edge computing start-up unicorn in 2022.

The introduction to fog computing is known as the edge of edge computing. It delivers more computation, communication, and data storage locally at the edge efficiently. It is gaining popularity for its decentralized computing structure located between different types of clouds and edge devices producing enormous datasets in real-time.

2022 will experience the radical shift from cloud computing to edge computing and this is one of the upcoming edge computing trends. Organizations will run their processes and systems at the edge of the network with new paradigms. They will reap the benefits from cloud-like convenience without compromising the performance effective data management by distributing data to locations of users efficiently.

Overcoming the IT staffing crisis is one of the top edge computing predictions in 2022. By deploying edge computing, organizations will not need dedicated IT staff to manage and control remote branch offices. An edge-based system from a single data centre with zero-touch provisioning allows administering remotely efficiently. Thus, organizations can have effective data management while overcoming the IT staffing crisis.

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Top Edge Computing Predictions to Look Out for in 2022 - Analytics Insight

If 2021 proved a tough survival test for businesses, 2022 could be the right time to accelerate adaptive ability by capitalising on trends.

INFLATIONARY PRESSURE

Inflation has picked up around the world because of higher costs for raw materials, constraints on the supply of goods, stronger consumer demand as economies reopen as well as prices bouncing back from drops in some sectors during the pandemic.

A sharp rebound in consumer demand coupled with supply disruptions and depleted supplies have pushed up prices and shipping costs globally.

Mounting inflationary pressure is anticipated in Thailand in 2022, with the Commerce Ministry -- which gauges headline inflation through the consumer price index -- predicting the highest level in the country in a decade, reaching 3% from a range of 0.8% to 1.2% in 2021.

E-payment transactions in Thailand have gained popularity since implementation of PromptPay in 2017.Chakrapan Natanri

The surge in the rate of inflation is mainly attributed to cost-push factors, including rising prices of imported raw materials, a recovery in domestic demand, relatively high oil prices and a labour shortage.

Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), said the growth in demand both domestically and overseas has arrived in line with GDP growth, recovering tourism, robust exports, higher production and a series of economic stimulus measures from the government that would encourage purchasing power and be instrumental in driving headline inflation in 2022.

Higher demand for energy based on a recovery of the global economy will also affect retail gasoline prices, which make up a large proportion of the inflation basket, he said.

On the supply side, raw food is showing inflationary signs, following higher demand and damage related to the climate, while other prices were quite stable and moved in line with an increase in production and logistics costs as well as the baht depreciation, said Mr Ronnarong.

Representations of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple and Litecoin are placed on PC motherboard in this illustration. REUTERS

DIGITAL ASSET BOOM

Regulators are expected to implement rules governing digital assets to minimise possible risk to the financial system, while large local banks and corporations have been getting involved in digital asset investment in line with positive growth in the market.

The popularity of cryptocurrencies has attracted a specific group of investors, largely speculators hoping for outsized returns in a short time from investing in digital currencies, both globally and locally.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the number of crypto traders surged to 1.77 million accounts as of October 2021, rising significantly from around 700,000 accounts in 2020.

Several firms now allow customers to pay for goods and services using digital currencies, starting with the property sector, followed by others including retail businesses.

However, the Bank of Thailand has made it clear it does not support the use of digital assets as a means of payment for goods and services because they are associated with high price volatility and risks in terms of cyber theft and money laundering, which could be detrimental to merchants, businesses and consumers.

The central bank, in coordination with the SEC and other relevant agencies, is considering guidelines to regulate the use of digital assets as a means of payment for goods and services to limit the risks.

Although the idea of digital assets becoming a mainstream payment method is still a long way off, their role as a fundraising and lending instrument was strengthened in 2021 by the proliferation of initial coin offerings, decentralised finance (DeFi), and game DeFi.

An electric vehicle charges at Motor Expo 2021.Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

CRYPTOCURRENCY WAVE

The global and Thai cryptocurrency markets are expected to continue attracting new waves of investors, growing with intensified competition from the entry of several traditional financial institutions this year.

According to data from the SEC, the trading value of cryptocurrencies in Thailand on five digital asset exchanges and a broker surged to 8.16 billion baht as of the end of November 2021, up 181% from 2.9 billion in January 2021.

As Thais gain greater access to the internet and social media, they also gain access to a vast amount of information and knowledge regarding cryptocurrencies, increasing their awareness of the assets.

One hypothesis is more crypto traders were attracted to the market during the pandemic because trading cryptocurrencies became more convenient and suitable to changing lifestyles and evolving technologies.

Traders can open a trading account online and verify their identities through the know-your-customer (KYC) process, then start trading anytime as digital markets never close.

According to Jirayut Srupsrisopa, chief executive and founder of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, Bitkub has 2 million traders going through the KYC process, while Zipmex has 9,000.

Several commercial banks and financial institutions such as SCBx Group and Kasikornbank hopped on the bandwagon and invested in digital platform startups and digital asset exchanges, making it likely different types of digital tokens and cryptocurrencies could grow this year, according to industry analysts.

Cloud computing is projected to gather momentum in Thailand in 2022.

CASHLESS SOCIETY

Thailand is using less cash for transactions because of collaboration by related parties to develop the county's digital payment platforms. E-payment transactions in Thailand have risen significantly since the implementation of the government's national e-payment project -- PromptPay -- in 2017.

Intensifying competition in mobile banking services has boosted the popularity of the e-payment channel. Banks have waived fees for online transactions, including cash transfers and payments, since March 2018.

The central bank and the local banking industry promoted a QR code payment solution, which has now been expanded to cover cross-border QR payment within Asean.

The Covid-19 outbreak added a catalyst to Thailand's e-payment adoption among consumers, helping people to maintain social distancing during the pandemic.

The central bank also developed a digital payment platform for businesses under its Smart Financial and Payment Infrastructure for Business project. The project builds the country's digital trading ecosystem in three core areas: e-invoices, e-tax invoices and e-payment for businesses, which are expected to be operational in the second half of 2022.

As PromptPay led to a revolution in digital payments for consumers, so will the Smart Financial project for businesses, said Bank of Thailand governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput.

Remote work became a trend in part because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

RISE OF EVS

The country's electric vehicle (EV) market looks set to enjoy bright prospects in 2022, with automakers exciting buyers with environmentally friendly models amid global campaigns aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

More policies to cope with greenhouse gas emissions have been launched by many countries, including Thailand, which should promote investments in EV technology and infrastructure, said Krisda Utamote, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT).

Governments view EV development as part of their efforts to achieve a net-zero goal, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption, as all types of EVs require less or no fossil fuel.

"The world is promoting technology to make environmentally friendly cars, using them as a key tool to reduce carbon dioxide and other air pollutants," said Mr Krisda.

These environmental concerns, together with a shift towards this generation of cars, is fuelling the growth of the EV industry.

Newcomers in the domestic EV market, including Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motor, have rolled out cars with novel designs, providing more choices for consumers.

In Thailand, around 3,200 EVs were registered between January and August, 2021, up from 2,999 units recorded for the whole of 2020, according to EVAT.

Plug-in hybrid EVs could be an appropriate choice for most Thais as they allow drivers to travel a considerable distance without worrying about locating an EV charging outlet, said Surasak Suthongwan, executive vice-president of Lexus Group under Toyota Motor Thailand Co.

CLOUD, AI AND CYBERSECURITY

Cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity are projected to gather momentum in Thailand in 2022, while the metaverse is still in its infancy.

Digital transformation is expected to continue among organisations as the pandemic shifts consumer behaviour towards online engagement.

Cloud computing should continue to accelerate, not just in the area of infrastructure as a service, but also through greater adoption of software as a service. Cloud service models featuring pay-per-use or subscriptions are suitable for many corporations with tight budgets.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity spending is expected to surge as enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act starts in June 2022, which requires organisations to employ sufficient security measures to ward off data breaches.

Industry analysts predict AI will become a common technology adopted by organisations to help make decisions and gain customer insights.

Hyper-automation could be more widely adopted as corporations aim to scale up productivity and rely less on a human workforce to observe social distancing measures, said analysts.

Regarding the metaverse, consultancy McKinsey & Co indicated the value proposition of metaverse for firms could be substantial, including greater touchpoints for connecting with new generations of consumers.

However, the metaverse still requires multiple technologies to be integrated.

There are various trends that could push the metaverse towards long-term growth, such as further penetration of e-commerce, virtual worlds becoming more mainstream, adoption of decentralised technologies and involvement by financial players, according to McKinsey. It is premature to determine how the metaverse will evolve, the company said.

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Anticipating the road ahead - Bangkok Post

Carmakers slashed production. PlayStations got harder to find in stores. Broadband providers faced monthslong delays for internet routers. All of these phenomena and more had a similar cause: an abrupt and cascading shortage of semiconductors. Also known as integrated circuits or more commonly just chips, they may be the tiniest yet most exacting product ever manufactured on a global scale. The combination of cost and difficulty in producing them has fostered a worldwide reliance on two Asian powerhouses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. That dependence was brought into stark relief when the Covid-19 pandemic and rising U.S.-China tensions made chips scarce. Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent in the coming years in a global race to expand production, with geopolitical as well as economic implications.

1. Why are there shortages?

Here are some factors:

* The stay-at-home shift: This pushed chip demand beyond levels projected before the pandemic. Lockdowns spurred growth in sales of laptops to the highest in a decade. Home networking gear, webcams and monitors were snapped up as office work moved out of the office, and Chromebooks were hot for a while as schools shut. Sales also jumped for home appliances, from TVs to air purifiers, that now come with customized chips.

* Fluctuating forecasts: Automakers that cut back drastically early in the pandemic underestimated how quickly car sales would rebound. They rushed to re-up orders late in 2020, only to get turned away because chipmakers were stretched supplying computing and smartphone giants like Apple Inc.

* Stockpiling: PC makers began warning about tight supplies early in 2020. Then around the middle of that year, Huawei Technologies Co. the Chinese smartphone maker that also dominates the global market for 5G networking gear began building up inventory to ensure it could survive U.S. sanctions that were set to cut it off from its primary suppliers. Other companies followed suit, hoping to grab share from Huawei, and Chinas chip imports climbed to almost $380 billion in 2020, up from about $330 billion the previous year.

* Disasters: A bitter cold snap in Texas in February led to power outages that shut semiconductor plants clustered around Austin; it was late March before Samsungs facilities there were back to normal. A plant in Japan belonging to Renesas Electronics Corp., a major provider of automotive chips, was damaged by fire in March, disrupting production for months.

2. Who is affected?

Chip shortages are expected to wipe out $210 billion of sales for carmakers this year, with production of 7.7 million vehicles lost. Never seen anything like it, Elon Musk, Tesla Inc.s chief executive officer, tweeted. Samsung warned that it saw a serious imbalance in supply and demand globally. TSMC forecast the shortages could extend into 2022. Some broadband providers were facing delays of more than a year when ordering internet routers. Apple said in April that supply constraints were crimping sales of iPads and Macs, which it said would knock $3 billion to $4 billion off its third-quarter revenue. In July it added iPhones to the list. Nintendo Co. said that shortages were slowing production of its Switch gaming device. Toyota Motor Corp. suspended output at 14 plants in September.

3. What is a chip?

Its the thing that makes electronic items smart. Made from a material, usually silicon, that semi-conducts electricity, the chip performs a variety of functions. Memory chips, which store data, are relatively simple and are traded like commodities. Logic chips, which run programs and act as the brains of a device, are more complex and expensive. These often carry names like Apple or Nvidia, but those companies are actually just the designers of the semiconductors, which are manufactured in factories called foundries.

4. Why is it so hard to compete?

Manufacturing advanced logic chips requires extraordinary precision, along with huge long-term bets in a field subject to rapid change. Plants cost billions of dollars to build and equip, and they have to run flat-out 24/7 to recoup the investment. But its not just that. A factory also gobbles up enormous amounts of water and electricity and is vulnerable to even the tiniest disruptions, whether from dust particles or distant earthquakes.

5. Who are the big manufacturers?

* TSMC pioneered the foundry business purely manufacturing chips for others with government support in the 1980s and now produces the most-sophisticated chips. Everyone beats a path to its door to get them; its share of the global foundry market is larger than its next three competitors combined.

* Samsung dominates in memory chips and is trying to muscle in on TSMCs gold mine. Its been improving its production technology and winning new orders from companies such as Qualcomm Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

* Intel Corp. is the last U.S. heavyweight in the field, but its business is heavily concentrated in manufacturing its own-brand chips that serve as the central processing unit (CPU) for laptops and desktop computers. Production delays have made it vulnerable to rivals, who are winning share using TSMC to produce their designs. Intel unveiled an ambitious bid in March to regain its manufacturing lead and break into the foundry business by spending $20 billion to build two new factories in Arizona. Its also looking to buy other chipmakers.

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* Smaller manufacturers include the U.S.s GlobalFoundries Inc., Chinas Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and Taiwans United Microelectronics Corp. But theyre at least two to three generations behind TSMCs technology. Famous names such as Texas Instruments, IBM and Motorola, all U.S. companies, have exited or given up trying to keep up with the most advanced manufacturing.

6. Hows the competition going?

The two giants are spending heavily to cement their dominance: TSMC said in April it would ramp up its capital expenditure over the next three years to $100 billion, including about $30 billion on capacity expansion and upgrades in 2021, from a record $17 billion last year. Samsung is earmarking about $151 billion for a decade-long project to catch its Taiwanese rival, part of a broader plan by South Korean companies including SK Hynix Inc. to spend roughly $450 billion to build the worlds largest chipmaking base. China is pushing hard to catch up as part of its efforts to reduce its reliance on U.S. technology, spurred by U.S. moves to restrict access to American intellectual property such as software and gear for designing chips. But China has a long way to go. For instance, in the automotive sector, Chinese chip design companies still arent able to come up with the advanced chips that serve as the brains for todays ever-smarter cars. China pledged again this year to boost spending and drive research into cutting-edge chips as part of its new five-year economic blueprint. While it didnt give specifics, SMIC has announced plans for a $2.35 billion plant with funding from the city of Shenzhen. The facility could begin production by 2022 and eventually churn out each year about half a million 12-inch wafers, which are used to fabricate chips. By comparison, TSMC shipped about 12.4 million such wafers in 2020.

7. What about outside Asia?

The U.S., which still leads the world in chip design, is seeking to encourage companies to build or expand advanced factories domestically to address what Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called a risk to national and economic security. In a report released in June, President Joe Biden recommended Congress appropriate at least $50 billion to support semiconductor research and production in the U.S. (A bill that easily passed the Senate the same day included $52 billion.) His administration will play a role in formulating tax incentives for a proposed $12 billion TSMC plant in Arizona and a $17 billion facility Samsung is planning to build in Texas. Similarly, European Union officials are exploring ways to build an advanced semiconductor factory in Europe, possibly with assistance from TSMC and Samsung, as part of its goal to double chip production to 20% of the global market by 2030. The U.K. is investigating California-based Nvidias $40 billion deal to buy British semiconductor designer Arm Ltd. on both national security and antitrust grounds.

8. Wheres the technology headed?

As 5G mobile networks proliferate driving demand for data-heavy video and game streaming and with many people working from home, the need for more powerful, energy-efficient chips is only going to grow. TSMC and Samsung are thus working to make transistors increasingly microscopic so more can fit into a single chip. Even small improvements can deliver substantial cost savings when multiplied across the full scale of something like Amazon Web Services Inc., a cloud computing provider. The rise of artificial intelligence is another force pushing innovation, since AI relies on massive data processing. More efficient designs also will help develop the so-called internet of things a universe of smart or connected devices from phones to light switches to refrigerators.

9. How does Taiwan fit into all this?

The island democracy emerged as the dominant player in part because of a government decision in the 1970s to promote the electronics industry. It was aided by a technology transfer deal with RCA Corp., the former U.S. electronics giant, and the trend in the West toward outsourcing. Matching its scale and skills now would take years and cost a fortune: Boston Consulting Group and the Semiconductor Industry Association estimated it would take more than $1 trillion over 10 years for the U.S. to achieve complete manufacturing self-sufficiency in chips. Chinese President Xi Jinping has plans to invest $1.4 trillion through 2025 in key technologies including semiconductors, and appointed a top deputy to lead the initiative. Political tensions could disrupt the race, however. The Biden administration has signaled it will continue efforts to restrict Chinas access to U.S. technology including that used in Taiwans foundries. More ominously, the U.S. could face difficulties if it found itself cut off from them. China has long claimed the island as a renegade province and threatened to invade to prevent its independence.

The Reference Shelf

A deep dive on how the world got so dependent on Taiwan for its chips.

More QuickTakes on the internet of things, why building an electric car is so expensive, and Taiwans tightrope.

Bloomberg Opinions Anjani Trivedi examines the long-term costs of chip shortcuts, Alex Webb warns about a European white elephant chip plant, and Tim Culpan covers TSMCs expansion challenge in 10 charts and says SMIC is on the wrong path.

The Economist sees the geopolitical struggle over chipmaking entering a new phase.

With assistance by Paul Geitner, Yuan Gao, and Vlad Savov

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Why the world is short of computer chips, and why it matters? - The Indian Express