As Huawei's chip supplier, TSMC has recently been manually sent to the hot search by the United States. As Taiwan’s largest company and the world’s leading semiconductor foundry company, what is the story behind it? Let’s start with his founder, the godfather of semiconductors, , Zhang Zhongmou, .
The previous article introduced Zhang Zhongmou's childhood and his career in studying and working in the United States. This article will continue to tell the story of his first trip to Taiwan. For missed viewers, please refer to
https://www.toutiao.com/i6831014209057194500/Reveal the legendary life of the godfather of semiconductors---the legendary life of former TSMC Chairman Zhang Zhongmou (Part 1)
Taiwan's first career
54-year-old Zhang Zhongmou was invited to Taiwan to develop his semiconductor career after retirement from General Instruments Corporation of the United States. He has served in Taiwan as the director of the Institute of Industrial Research and Research and Chairman of UDian .
2 years later, he chose to start a new business and founded TSMC. In the next twenty years, TSMC specializes in wafer foundry business. At the same time, a situation has also formed a battle with UMC's two wafer heroes. However, TSMC's technological innovation and strategic layout have always been ahead of the world. Until Zhang Zhongmou was 74 years old and retired for the first time. Hand over to successor Cai Lixing.
1980s, Taiwan's semiconductor industry was in its infancy. The RCA technology transfer plan implemented by the Institute of Industrial Research of the Ministry of Economic Affairs sent people to the American electronics manufacturer American radio company for training. Mainly introduced integrated circuit technology. The aim is to establish a wafer demonstration factory for Taiwan that has never been done.
The Institute of Technology and Research set up an electronics center to undertake the RCA program at that time. It mainly serves as a demonstration base to investigate whether this complete set of technologies can be mass-produced. If mass production can be really done, a large-scale investment and construction of factories will be invested. Xu Mingzhi, honorary vice chairman of China Unicom, said in an interview.
and this is the predecessor of Lianhua Electronics .
In 1985, Zhang Zhongmou took office as the director of the Institute of Industrial Research and Research, and also served as the chairman of Taiwan's first integrated circuit company, Lianhua Electronics. At this time, Zhang Zhongmou also met his second wife, Zhang Shufen, who was then the director of the Office of the Institute of Technology Research. Zhang Shufen, who also has experience in studying in the United States, is lively and generous, elegant and intellectual, and deeply attracted Zhang Zhongmou. And he was also drifting away from his wife who was separated from his foreign country.
Although Taiwan's semiconductor environment was still harsh at this time, Zhang Zhongmou worked hard without reservation. He believes that Taiwan operates a traditional IDM integrated component manufacturing factory, that is, a first-hand business model such as chip design, packaging and testing, which is not comparable to the world's largest manufacturers. Therefore, he believes that Taiwan’s development of wafer foundry is the long-term solution. Therefore, he decided to start TSMC.
Zhang Zhongmou said: "I just arrived in Taiwan for a few weeks. Mr. Li Guoding asked me to go to the office of the Executive Yuan where he is. He said he hoped that I could form a semiconductor company to promote Taiwan's semiconductor industry. What is the business model is up to me."
You should know that investing in wafer foundries requires huge funds. At that time, semiconductors were a brand new industry in Taiwan and almost no one was optimistic about it. Not to mention, there were no companies in the world that specialized in chip design at that time, so almost no one accepted Zhang Zhongmou's idea of specializing in OEM production. During the preparation period of TSMC, Zhang Zhongmou tried to raise funds from major U.S. and Japanese factories, but ended up hitting walls everywhere. I have never received any reply from the letters written to many other foreign companies.
Finally, the Netherlands' Philips company agreed to invest, but the prerequisite was to acquire TSMC shares. Xue Xiangchuan, former director of the Taiwan Zhuke Park Administration, said: "Philips uses patents as value. This is also a very important persistence for Zhang Zhongmou. He believes that it is necessary to find an advanced company with many patents to be a partner. This will not involve the infringement of intellectual property rights. "
TSMC was officially established in Taiwan in February 1987. Its initial investment ratio is: Philips investment 27.5%, private industry investment 24.2%, and Executive Yuan Development Fund investment 48.3%. The total capital amount reached 1.3775 billion NT$4.With the technical support of Philips and the financial support of Taiwan Research Institute, TSMC has been successfully established.
Then, TSMC rented a six-inch factory from the Industrial Research Institute and converted it into a wafer factory. We officially started the wafer foundry business, mainly producing low-level products. At this time, TSMC not only produced low-level products, but also had a production capacity of only 6,615 pieces per year. The annual revenue of NT$128 million in the first year was NT$125 million in the loss. The following year, TSMC built the second wafer factory. In the third year, mass production was put into operation.
As the business model of wafer foundry stabilizes, UMC is also trying to transform. At this time, the battle between TSMC and UMC's two wafer giants is becoming increasingly fierce.
Before UMC transformed, he did everything himself. I thought I could make more money, but in fact the gross profit margin was not as good as TSMC, so I planned to take the path of transformation.
With high yield rate and continuous technological innovation, TSMC's performance has been on the right track. At this time, Zhang Zhongmou had been separated from his wife for 6 years. In 1991, Zhang Zhongmou ended his first marriage and devoted himself to his career.
Zhang Zhongmou, who has a rigorous personality and foresight, decided to build a Ba Cun Factory, namely the third wafer factory in 1993. This operation also allowed him to gradually get rid of his competitors.
In addition to actively expanding, TSMC has also continuously improved nanotechnology, making it increasingly influential on the international stage. At this time, it was the computer craze in the 1990s, and orders from world-class manufacturers flocked to Taiwan. On September 5, 1994, TSMC was listed in Taiwan at RMB 95 per share. The Taiwan capital market, which was not active or understood the semiconductor industry at that time, seemed to be unsuccessful. The daily trading volume in the first week of listing was only less than five.
Time is advanced to 1995, and the annual output of six-inch wafers has exceeded one million pieces, and the eight-inch factory has invested in mass production. TSMC has gone from a small factory with annual losses of more than NT$100 million to a new high that makes profits and dividends every year. In 1997, TSMC ranked first in the market value of the Taiwan Stock Exchange for the first time.
Then, TSMC issued depositary receipts to the United States. This was also the only Taiwanese company listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange at that time. At this time, the Bachuang Factory was in a price war and the profit margin was very small. However, TSMC's profits are still considerable due to process innovation.
In 1998, Zhang Zhongmou published his first autobiography in his life, fulfilling his dream of a writer in his youth. The autobiography says that the autobiography is also to explain that he is not a very fierce person like the legend outside, but just wants to figure things out and do it well.
The year 1999, TSMC, which has never stopped innovating, laid the foundation for the first 12-inch wafer factory in Zhuke Park. With the refinement of division of labor and the outsourcing of labor-intensive industries, wafer foundry has become an important part of development. TSMC has already become the world's best wafer processing plant and regards it as its goal.
In 2000, TSMC's development ushered in another strategic turning point. TSMC exchanged one share for six shares of Decai, which cost less than 3 billion yuan, and obtained more than 38 billion yuan of assets of Decai. In the same year, it acquired the third largest wafer foundry on the island's Dajiti Circuit Company with a share exchange ratio of one to two. This series of mergers and acquisitions has provided great help to increase TSMC's production capacity.
In 2005, TSMC's production capacity continued to lead the industry. At this time, Zhang Zhongmou resigned from his position as CEO and handed over to his favorite general Cai Lixing to take over. I only retain the position of chairman. At this time, Zhang Zhong's first spring in Taiwan's semiconductor industry came to an end.
(Because there is too much information, I decided to finish it in three issues. Interested readers, please follow Xiaoxiao, thank you here. See you tomorrow.)
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