UK Government Criticized for Insufficient Support of Semiconductor Industry

[T0@st]

The United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has recently announced a semiconductor-related partnership with with Japan (at the G7 Hiroshima Summit), as well as a $1 billion ($1.25 billion) support package for microchip industries within the UK - with the intended goal of turning the nation into a "technology superpower." The 10-year investment strategy was initially expected to kick of last Autumn, but the announcement was delayed, for various reasons, to last weekend's intergovernmental political forum held in Japan. Sunak hopes that the new strategy "will grow our economy, create new jobs and (make the UK) stay at the forefront of new technological breakthroughs."

The United Kingdom's microchip industry has been described as a "fledgling" operation when compared to its neighbors' undertakings, and industry figures think that the government's pledge of £1 billion in support is "insignificant" in the grand scheme of things. They cite the USA's CHIPS Act ($52 billion) and an equivalent scheme devised by the European Union (€43 billion of aid) as glowing examples of proper expenditure and reinforcement of their respective semiconductor industries. One technology critic thinks that the UK's support package is good enough for improving research and development departments, but it will in no way pave the way for local companies to reach the same level as big international players such as NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom and AMD. Cambridge, UK-based firm Arm opted to file for an IPO in the United States earlier this month, and ignored London's stock exchange entirely - the semiconductor and software design company is wholly owned by Japan's Softbank - prior to a change in ownership, Arm was viewed as Britain's leading light in the technology biz.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Space Lynx]

eh, that's what trade agreements between allies are for. UK can't even afford its own NHS at the moment, it has bigger problems than silicon.

 

[bonehead123]

pfff.... $1B over 10 years.....m/E/h...

The UK gov't probably spent that much and took that long to choose which AI Bot to use to write this poorly written PR.... not to mention dreaming about if they could ever become a "tech superpower" hahahaha, yea right

This PR is clearly meant as a self-applied pat on the back for Rishi boy, seeins how he waited for the G7 meeting to get it released, and besides that, the way things are over there, the UK gov't will be lucky if it still exists in 10 years....

 

[AceKingSuited]

UK government still living on their past glory thinking they are important lol. Sorry UK, you aren't big enough nor dedicated enough to have your own semiconductor industry. It takes decades of investments to build one and look at how much China spent and they are still behind the leaders. Germany a much bigger and larger industrial economy doesn't even have one.

Soon , Australia, Canada, and New Zealand will start asking for heir own semiconductor industry lol. They are better off spending the 1B on Nvidia GPUs to play Diablo IV.

 

[mb194dc]

The semi industry is (semi?) nationalized now? It's up to governments to subsidize Fabs not private companies to decide to build them because it makes economic sense.

Taiwan can do it better, or we're worried about it being flattened essentially?

 

[Bomby569]

crazy idea, the UK could join the EU and benefit from it's 43B plan. Oh wait, nevermind

 

[Wirko]

The semi industry is (semi?) nationalized now? It's up to governments to subsidize Fabs not private companies to decide to build them because it makes economic sense.

Taiwan can do it better, or we're worried about it being flattened essentially?

What exactly is Taiwan doing better? If you mean handing out tax breaks instead of subsidies, I can mostly agree (you don't get free money in advance, and you also don't get it if you pull a foxconn) but partially disagree (you still get free money from the government).

 

[Fluffmeister]

crazy idea, the UK could join the EU and benefit from it's 43B plan. Oh wait, nevermind

UK were usually only second to Germany being a net contributor to the club anyway, let them pay for it, it's all about them ultimately anyway.

 

[Minus Infinity]

The UK might be hopeless but tyey are still light years ahead of the clowns in Australia that would rather shear sheep and dig up coal and iron ore than support a high tech industry.

 

[Why_Me]

The UK might be hopeless but tyey are still light years ahead of the clowns in Australia that would rather shear sheep and dig up coal and iron ore than support a high tech industry.

Nothing wrong with that. The world needs those materials.

 

[Deleted member 185088]

The semi industry is (semi?) nationalized now? It's up to governments to subsidize Fabs not private companies to decide to build them because it makes economic sense.

Taiwan can do it better, or we're worried about it being flattened essentially?

Maybe focus on education, with a more educated population they won't have lef the EU not elect a clown into power.

The only one that stands a chance is China as they seem keen on paying the price unlike others, and don't have stupid shortsighted stakeholders.

 

[Bomby569]

UK were usually only second to Germany being a net contributor to the club anyway, let them pay for it, it's all about them ultimately anyway.

they saw the EU menbership as a bank account, money in and out. Never understood they were getting much more, access to a 400M consumers market, all the common project, scientific or commercial.

 

[mb194dc]

Maybe focus on education, with a more educated population they won't have lef the EU not elect a clown into power.

The only one that stands a chance is China as they seem keen on paying the price unlike others, and don't have stupid shortsighted stakeholders.

The EU is an economic backwater especially for technology . Tech champions like wirecard and Gowex... Try doing business in the likes of France, Italy and Spain. Hope you know the right people and have the brown envelopes ready.

No idea why anyone thinks the EU is some kind of example to look to. The US, SK, Taiwan, Japan and China if you don't mind "slave" labor in the latter. That's more like it.

Taiwan has a comparative advantage in semis. There is an argument China might flatten it essentially.

Doing a deal with China using peaceful means is the solution.

Now we've got people arguing over how much fabs should be subsidised to get a piece.

Not that the chips act has worked. Intel is on the floor technically and commercially.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

pfff.... $1B over 10 years.....m/E/h...

The UK gov't probably spent that much and took that long to choose which AI Bot to use to write this poorly written PR.... not to mention dreaming about if they could ever become a "tech superpower" hahahaha, yea right

This PR is clearly meant as a self-applied pat on the back for Rishi boy, seeins how he waited for the G7 meeting to get it released, and besides that, the way things are over there, the UK gov't will be lucky if it still exists in 10 years....

I get you but, while I agree this is too small a amount.
And I agree with the fact in chip production we are way behind and can't catch up.
Arm and many more were started, built up and run successfully in the UK, could we do more yes, if we hadn't bothered though the world would look very different.

And your phone would be shit.

As for UK gov, sigh was it ever better?!?

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

The current UK government is only interested in supporting themselves and their friends.
Industry & the public need not apply.

 

[Bomby569]

The EU is an economic backwater especially for technology .

this thing over and over, try doing "tech" without ASML or Zeiss. Do people really think tech is meta/google/apple? especially people in here.

And no i'm not saying the EU is perfect, but no one is really. But it's the least dystopian of the big blocs. You get spying from NSA, rampant crime in NY or SF, no healthcare etc... in the US. China is China. Asia go live in a box in Tokyo or Seul and work countless hours. The EU is the best place to be a normal person even with all it's faults.

 

[Wirko]

this thing over and over, try doing "tech" without ASML or Zeiss. Do people really think tech is meta/google/apple? especially people in here.

Add at least IMEC to that. Founded by Belgian government and owned by Belgian universities, most of which are public and all of which are non-profit organisations.

And no i'm not saying the EU is perfect, but no one is really. But it's the least dystopian of the big blocs. You get spying from NSA, rampant crime in NY or SF, no healthcare etc... in the US. China is China. Asia go live in a box in Tokyo or Seul and work countless hours. The EU is the best place to be a normal person even with all it's faults.

Many stereotypes here. At least make a distinction between Northern Europe and Southern Europe. Half as many brown envelopes up there compared to down here (but I don't think they are any thinner).

The semi industry is (semi?) nationalized now? It's up to governments to subsidize Fabs not private companies to decide to build them because it makes economic sense.

But realistically, fabs for 3nm and newer nodes will make less and less economic sense. Price per transistor has started to go up, not down. It could go down if manufacturing volume was expanding at a monstruous rate dictated by Moore's Second Law - but for that to happen, we'd need a constant GDP growth of 10% a year or more per capita, along with a constant growth of capitas by 10% a year, and of course the ability to invade more planets than we can promptly destroy.

 

[Minus Infinity]

Nothing wrong with that. The world needs those materials.

Don't need sheep, don't need as much coal and it's why we are a thrid world economy and technological backwater with that sort of Luddite thinking that pervades our political mindset. You should run as a Federal politician in Australia, you'll fit right in.