The Semiconductor Century with Chris Miller (Author of “Chip War”)

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What really determines success in the age of AI? Is it better models or broader reach? Chris Miller, author of the bestselling book Chip War, explains how semiconductors have become the strategic center of gravity for global power, economics, and innovation. As a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, Chris has spent nearly a decade studying how chips are reshaping geopolitics and why they're essential to understanding everything from military capabilities to artificial intelligence.

In our conversation, we explore:

• Why diffusion and adoption of technology are more important markers of impact than actual capabilities

• What most people got wrong about DeepSeek's breakthrough, but why China's AI talent still matters

• Huawei's surprising transformation from telecom giant to potential AI powerhouse

• The critical role India and Southeast Asia may play in chip manufacturing

• How the Trump administration's policies will impact the technological battle

• Why China will likely achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency in mainstream chips within five years

• Barriers to rebuilding a domestic chip industry in the US

• The massive infrastructure investments being made in AI computing power

• The implications of Stargate

• And much more!

Explore the episode

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(04:06) A brief overview of Chip War

(06:10) Why Chris believes we are on the cusp of a new technological era

(08:03) Why the diffusion of technology is the true marker of impact

(09:29) Chris’s thoughts on enterprise adoption of AI

(11:03) Chris's personal use of AI tools

(12:24) The significance of DeepSeek and China's AI capabilities

(17:05) The main players in the Chinese AI space

(18:34) A case for Huawei as a full-stack player

(20:33) LLM price trends, and why DeepSeek isn't assured to win emerging markets

(22:19) Key drivers of software success, and how that might translate to AI

(24:42) US AI market: Chris's insights on who will gain dominance

(27:38) The concept of sovereign AI models and their viability

(32:33) Trump vs. Biden on AI policy

(34:52) Progress in diversifying semiconductor manufacturing

(37:04) The challenges facing Intel and its future

(38:55) What to watch for in the semiconductor race, and China’s move towards self-sufficiency

(45:09) The advanced packaging trend

(46:34) Solving for increased energy needs

(50:05) The implications of the Stargate project, and what we still don’t know

(52:44) The motivation behind Silicon Valley empire builders

(56:10) AI's unique appeal to tech leaders' ambitions

(58:03) Final meditations

Follow Chris Miller

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-miller-93004923/

Twitter: https://x.com/crmiller1

Website: https://www.christophermiller.net/

Resources and episode mentions

Books

• Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology: https://www.amazon.com/Chip-War-Worlds-Critical-Technology/dp/1982172002

• Isaac Newton: https://www.amazon.com/Isaac-Newton-James-Gleick/dp/1400032954

• A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains: https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Intelligence-Humans-Breakthroughs/dp/0063286343/

People

• Tyler Cowen on X: https://x.com/tylercowen

• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama

• President of Russia on X: https://x.com/kremlinrussia_e

• Elon Musk on X: https://x.com/elonmusk

• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang/

• Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/

• Isaac Newton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton

• Galileo Galilei: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

• Sergei Lavrov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Lavrov

• Peter the Great: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great

• Catherine the Great: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great

Other resources

• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/

• Claude: https://claude.ai

• DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com/

• NVIDIA: https://www.nvidia.com

• The Stargate Project: Trump Touts $500 Billion Bid For AI Dominance: https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2025/01/30/the-stargate-project-trump-touts-500-billion-bid-for-ai-dominance/

• SMIC: https://www.smics.com/

• CXMT: https://www.cxmt.com/

• Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/

• Tencent: https://www.tencent.com/

• Baidu: https://usa.baidu.com/

• Bytedance: https://www.bytedance.com/

• Huawei: https://www.huawei.com/en/

• Marginal Revolution: https://marginalrevolution.com/

• Grok 3: https://x.ai/grok

• Sarvam: https://www.sarvam.ai/

• Sakana: https://sakana.ai/

• Mistral: https://mistral.ai/

• TSMC: https://www.tsmc.com/english

• Intel: https://www.intel.com/

• Samsung: https://www.samsung.com/

• Broadcom: https://www.broadcom.com/

• Qualcomm: https://www.qualcomm.com/

• Apple: https://www.apple.com/

• ASML: https://www.asml.com/en

• EUV tools: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_ultraviolet_lithography

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems: https://cfs.energy/

• SoftBank: https://www.softbank.jp/en/

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