TSMC

Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Venturecapital, Ma, Investing, Acquisitions, Startups, Vc, Investment, Business, Technology

4.8 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2021

⏱️ 153 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's time. We dive into the unbelievable history behind the quietest technology giant of them all — and as of recording the world's 9th (!) most valuable company — the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. This story checks every box in the Acquired pantheon of greatness: China, America, MIT, Don Valentine, Silicon Valley, "real men" looking silly, and... moats literally built by lasers. We're not kidding. Pull up a seat and settle in for a great one!

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Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta

Statsig: bit.ly/statsigacquired
Modern Treasury: https://bit.ly/acquiredmoderntreasury

Links:

Episode Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQMgQDY5c3Fs5DsjB4cZHVZGdhN4kK-6HapO_r7pjyQ/edit?usp=sharing

Carve Outs:

Ted Lasso (Season 1): https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy
Greek: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976014/
Who is Michael Ovitz?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2HS77M/

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you think people can tell when we're like fishing for teaser quits?
0:04.8	I think they'll be able to tell on this one.
0:24.2	Welcome to season 9 episode 3 of Acquired,
0:27.8	the podcast about great technology companies and the stories and playbooks behind them.
0:32.2	I am Ben Gilbert and I'm the co-founder and managing director of Seattle based Pioneer Square Labs
0:37.4	in our venture fund PSL Ventures.
0:39.4	And I'm David Rosenthal and I am an angel investor based in San Francisco.
0:44.2	And we are your hosts.
0:46.2	Well, listeners, David and I are coming at you live, well, sort of live together from Seattle in person.
0:53.6	First time since our Ethereum episode, David.
0:55.6	That's right, which was not that long ago.
0:57.6	Love that we're back in the swing of things.
0:59.6	I know. I feel as listeners, you probably don't notice a difference,
1:02.6	but it feels totally different to be doing this with you in person, David, in full 3D.
1:07.6	Energy in the room is electric.
1:10.6	Well, today's episode is on TSMC or the Taiwan semiconductor company.
1:15.6	It is your classic.
1:17.6	Most people have never heard of it,
1:19.6	but it's the ninth largest company in the world episode.
1:22.6	This is wild.
1:23.6	Morris Chang founded TSMC at age 56, retired at 74, then came back at age 78,
1:32.6	aimed to the deal to make all of Apple's chips.
	...

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