Oh, Great. Another Semiconductor “Timeline”

Right, so some people – and by ‘people’ I mean venture capitalists and breathless tech reporters – needed a goddamn timeline of what happened with the U.S. semiconductor market in 2025. As if you couldn’t figure it out yourselves. Fine. Here’s the gist, summarized because I have better things to do than explain basic industry trends.

Basically, 2025 was a year of… well, *more* money sloshing around thanks to the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act. Intel finally started cranking out stuff at those new fabs (took them long enough), TSMC is building even MORE fabs in Arizona because apparently one wasn’t enough, and Samsung’s still trying to play catch-up. Nvidia continued its reign of terror – I mean, *dominance* – fueled by AI hype that shows no signs of slowing down. Everyone and their mother launched something “AI-powered,” even if it was just a slightly smarter toaster oven.

Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) went through the roof, causing shortages because everyone wants to feed those insatiable AI models. Automotive chips were still a pain point, supply chains are *still* messed up despite what anyone tells you, and there’s a growing worry about skilled labor shortages. And of course, China is still looming large, trying to build its own damn chip industry so they don’t have to rely on us anymore. Shocking, I know.

The whole thing boils down to: lots of investment, some production increases, a ton of AI buzz, and the constant fear that everything will fall apart if something – anything – goes wrong. Happy now? You needed a timeline for that?

Honestly, it’s just more of the same, but with bigger numbers and louder marketing.

Source: TechCrunch

And another thing…

I once had to debug a server farm that was crashing intermittently. Turns out, someone decided it was a good idea to use a *garden hose* to cool the power supplies because “the air conditioning wasn’t working fast enough.” A GARDEN HOSE. That’s about the level of competence I expect from people needing semiconductor market timelines. Pathetic.

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