“Chip
4” alliance initiative
· The US is pursuing
the “Chip 4” alliance initiative with three other top semiconductor makers —
Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
· India, Japan and
Australia had announced plans in September 2021 to establish a semiconductor
supply chain initiative “to secure access to semiconductors and their
components”.
· A further convergence
of regional efforts is a distinct possibility if the US were to play a
fostering role to avoid overlap of efforts by partner countries, heralding the
possibility of India being possibly drafted into some of the mainstream chip
alliances that are being discussed.
· India is keen on
greater collaboration shepherded by the US is the way the global semiconductor
chip industry works, dominated almost entirely by some countries and, in turn,
a handful of companies. For instance, two nations – Taiwan and South Korea –
make up about 80 per cent of the global foundry base for chips. Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.(TSMC), the world’s most advanced chipmaker, is
headquartered in Taiwan, while only a handful of companies – Samsung, SK Hynix,
Intel and Micron – can put together advanced logic chips, and US’ Nvidia dominates
the chips used in the high-end graphics-based applications. One firm in the
world – the Netherlands based ASML – has the capability to produce a type of
machine called an EUV (extreme ultraviolet lithography) device, without which
making an advanced chip is simply not possible.
