S8 Ep214: PREVIEW Guest: Brandon Weichert. Weichert explains how China attempts to reverse engineer advanced chip fabricator machines from the European firm ASML to bypass sanctions. Chinese entities reportedly broke machines while tinkering, then called ASML for r

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

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4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2025

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

PREVIEW Guest: Brandon Weichert. Weichert explains how China attempts to reverse engineer advanced chip fabricator machines from the European firm ASML to bypass sanctions. Chinese entities reportedly broke machines while tinkering, then called ASMLfor repairs specifically to observe the technicians and learn the intricate mechanics of the forbidden technology. The strategy is similar to a car mechanic deliberately tampering with a competitor's high-performance engine until it fails, then calling the competitor's support team to fix it—not because they need the car running, but because they want to watch exactly how the expert puts the pieces back together.

Transcript

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0:00.0	My place in tech changes every day, but I don't fear the future,
0:05.0	because I'm with the leader, Pluralsight.
0:08.0	Their online learning platform has the hands-on, expert-led courses I need
0:13.0	to master new tech skills and create bigger impact,
0:17.0	so I can learn quickly and stay ahead.
0:20.0	With Pluralsight, I don't fear what's next. I embrace it.
0:25.6	Tap in at Pluralsight.com and see for yourself.
0:30.2	This is John Batchelor, speaking with Brandon Weikert, my colleague in our correspondence about
0:35.8	artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
0:40.6	Here we tell a story, Brandon does it very succinctly, of a story we've both been told
0:46.5	separately from different directions about ASML, the European firm that builds the fabricator machines, 60,000, 600,000 parts, an unbelievable amount of detail.
1:01.4	Those fab machines are what create the chips that are designed with the direction of
1:09.1	Nvidia, for example, at the high end.
1:12.3	The Chinese are now boasting
1:14.9	about how they've upgraded ASML machines
1:17.8	that the top end of which
1:21.3	they're forbidden to either import or buy
1:26.1	or in any fashion acquire on a basis of sanctioning against the regime that is both
1:33.7	brutal and has lived on thievery for many years. So-called China in 2025 is about stealing.
1:42.7	Here Brandon tells the story about what happened one day when a phone call came
1:46.9	into ASML headquarters in Europe.
1:50.4	More of this tonight.
	...

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