The Untold Struggles Behind Taiwan’s Semiconductor Rise: Early Chips No One Wanted! | TECH CHIP EP4

In the 1970s, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry faced major challenges: lack of funds, technology, and talent. This episode of TECH CHIP explores how the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) sent top engineers to the US to learn advanced CMOS technology. Led by Director Hu Ding-Hua, they built Taiwan’s first demonstration fab and produced the first semiconductor product — electronic watches. Despite initial market rejection, the team persevered and eventually broke into international markets, laying the foundation for Taiwan’s rise as a global semiconductor powerhouse.