Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei may seem like a quiet Silicon Valley executive at first glance. But his company's global influence is far greater than that simple appearance suggests. The mobile networks of countless countries around the world - which carry our daily voice calls, messages, and data - rely on Huawei equipment. In many places, it is almost impossible to get mobile phone service without using Huawei's network.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before world leaders on the stage of Davos in Switzerland in 2017, his voice was filled with a message of peace. While newly elected Donald Trump was calling for 'America First', Xi spoke of 'mutual benefit' in global trade - the media gave him the title of 'protector of globalization'. But behind that seemingly calm and generous declaration, a different plan was going on inside.
For decades, Intel was the undisputed leader in the semiconductor world, a symbol of American technological prowess. The microprocessors they invented, along with the famous x86 architecture, were the lifeblood of everything from PCs to data centers.
that look good, feel good, and are perfect for the task. Apple has always been cautious about its 'look, feel, and work quality'. However, very few people are aware that Apple itself designs the tiny chips that power the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In fact, Apple was one of the main winners in the semiconductor world in the 'fabless revolution' that took place around the world under the leadership of TSMC.
There was once a saying in Silicon Valley: "Real Men Have Fabs" - that is, real semiconductor companies are those that have their own fabrication ('fab') plants or factories. But in the late 1980s, this idea changed completely with the help of a new generation. These entrepreneurs used to design chips themselves, but outsource the manufacturing work, whose main partners were companies like TSMC. This newly born business model is called the 'fabless model'.
On the stage of the Macworld Conference in San Francisco, history was about to be made in January, 2006. One after another, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Intel CEO Paul Otellini stepped onto the stage. That day, Jobs made a historic announcement: from now on, all Mac computers would run on Intel processors.