What we took away
Taiwan’s greatest export isn’t chips. It’s capability.
Ideas had to leave the laboratory
What it was — A bridge between government, universities and industry.
What it built — The engineering talent that Taiwan would need in the decades ahead.
What Taiwan acquired wasn’t just technology
What it was — The transfer of semiconductor manufacturing technology from RCA.
What it built — The ability to learn. To adapt. To build on what others had already discovered.
Peaks don’t appear on their own
What it was — The decision to return to Taiwan and establish TSMC.
Why it worked — The foundations had already been laid. The institutions existed.
The world is investing billions to build semiconductor industries. Those investments matter. But Taiwan’s story suggests that factories alone are not enough.
The harder—and ultimately more important—challenge is building the capabilities that allow entirely new industries to emerge.