Morris Chang

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Intel's early mistake

  “Originally they were the dominant player, and frankly they looked down on wafer manufacturing, thinking that this thing couldn't do much. I was acquainted with them, so at first I sought investment from Intel.”

  Our noteMorris Chang discusses Intel's initial dismissal of the foundry business model.

• Professional managerial leadership

  “Of course, there are disadvantages as well, but I do think that to set up a world-class enterprise, deploying a professional managerial leadership is still a better model.”

  Our noteMorris Chang explains why TSMC relies on professional managers rather than family control.

• Finding national advantages

  “If the definition of that is an industry that is important to the world and Taiwan has a high market share, then you need to find an industry where Taiwan has potential advantages”

  Our noteMorris Chang defines what makes an industry a protective shield for a nation.

• Source of success

  “Why is TSMC successful in Taiwan? Because TSMC also gets good, well-trained technicians, and even well-trained operators from a lot of trade schools in Taiwan.”

  Our noteMorris Chang attributes TSMC's success to the quality of technical talent in Taiwan.

• Personal life lesson

  “Now the personal lesson to me was, well, I needed to study hard and later on, work hard. And hope that there will be peace.”

  Our noteMorris Chang reflects on how growing up during war and poverty influenced his mindset.

• Complementary engineering talents

  “You can have an innovative group but not so methodical, and then you can have a methodical group maybe not very innovative complement each other.”

  Our noteMorris Chang discusses how different cultural engineering strengths can work together.

• Early survival goals

  “When we first founded TSMC, I just wanted the company to survive. I just didn't want to let down the government who had basically funded half of it.”

  Our noteMorris Chang recalls his modest expectations during the founding years of TSMC.

• Global integration

  “Taiwan's success story is not about Taiwan doing it alone, but a story of integration of the best in the world.”

  Our noteMorris Chang emphasizes that TSMC's success relies on global supply chains and tools.

• End of globalization

  “There's no question in my mind that at least in the chip sector, globalization is dead. Just look at the way China has been embattled.”

  Our noteMorris Chang comments on the shifting geopolitical landscape of the semiconductor industry.

• Talent migration

  “But then, of course, talents usually migrated to higher profit occupations. And so, the manufacturing talents in the U.S. started to migrate to design aspects”

  Our noteMorris Chang explains why the US lost its competitive edge in semiconductor manufacturing.