Chinese chip pioneer Richard Chang urges focus on mature chips over 2nm hype

Richard Chang Rugin, who is 78 years old and previously served as the CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), has expressed concerns about blindly chasing after the latest trends in advanced chip processes, such as 2nm and 3nm. In a rare public comment, he emphasized the importance of mature chips for safeguarding China's supply chain. Chang, born in mainland China and raised in Taiwan, founded SMIC in 2000 after spending 20 years at Texas Instruments in the U.S. He resigned as CEO in 2009 due to a lawsuit over trade secrets with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. He recommends that local start-ups focus on distributed 'edge AI' applications instead of trying to rival top global chip makers.