UK's $1.25 Billion Strategy for Semiconductor Industry Lacks Ambition, Say Critics

The UK government has announced an investment of up to $1.25 billion in the domestic semiconductor industry, but has been criticised for declining to join the spending race that has seen the US and EU announce significantly bigger programmes. From a report: Labour accused the government of lacking ambition in its announcement, while one UK startup said the 1bn pound figure was less than the cost of one basic semiconductor plant. The U's long-awaited national semiconductor strategy would focus on the country's existing strengths in the technology. Semiconductors, or microchips, are the "brains" of electronic devices, formed by wafers of silicon that are key to most forms of modern technology, from cars, smartphones and kitchen devices to power stations. Under the strategy, the planned decade-long investment would be targeted at areas such as design, research and development. "Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow," said the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. "Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage."

UK is too poor for ambition anymore

[optikos]

Ambition is a by-product of wealth. This lesson is observable in a vast multitude of tech examples too: financially struggling companies cease having vision, ambition, and drive when the revenue can no longer support largess.

Re:UK is too poor for ambition anymore

[rsilvergun]

The leader of the bank of England literally said Brits need to accept that they're poorer. He walked out back, but the important thing is he got the idea out there. That's what he was doing. Telling the British people to get back in their place. I mean they literally have a ruling class.

Re:UK is too poor for ambition anymore

[AmiMoJo]

The UK is a poor country, with a lot of rich people.

Re: UK is too poor for ambition anymore

[saloomy]

It is too regulated. If you want to grow semiconductor design and manufacturing, provide lots of water for FABs. Provide tax benefits or incentives. Provide exports duty free. Provide favorable environmental regulations that make it not an unnecessarily burdensome endeavor to build the facilities, and commit to placing an order for the government in some fashion. Just putting dollars together is asking for a theft of those dollars.

Re:

[VeryFluffyBunny]

You're basically arguing for subsidies, which is what the USA & EU are currently doing, as well as the UK. The difference is in scale. £1.25 billion isn't much of a subsidy compared to the £billions in contracts that the Tories "gave away" to their cronies during the COVID-19 pandemic that turned out to be fraudulent. I guess the Tories have other priorities.

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[AmiMoJo]

£37 pissed away on Test and Trace alone, with no measurable benefit.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

And don't forget the 30 billion that Liz Truss flushed down the toilet.

I think every future UK government expenditure should be denominated in fractional Truss's, so "the semiconductor fab project will cost 1/25th of a Truss" or "we should increase NHS funding, it's only 1/20th of a Truss".

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

The UK has been plundered, and with brexit is going to take decades to recover, if we ever do.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Couldn't they just use some of the vast amount of money they've saved through leaving the EU to be a bit more generous in funding this go-it-alone attempt?

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[serviscope_minor]

Well... the trouble is, he's also not wrong. We ARE poorer. Growth is sluggish, austerity and general Tory incompetence has eviscerated public services meaning people are shouldering new costs they didn't before, inflation is running rampant.

In terms of accepting it: if people don't accept it they might still think the Conservatives are doing a good job and so vote for them again. People need to accept it, blame those who did it and kick the wankers out.

Re:

[timeOday]

Sounds like you think it's just a wealth distribution problem, but it doesn't look like it to me. The pie is smaller:

https://data.worldbank.org/ind... [worldbank.org]

That dropoff from 2019 to 2020 was brutal, that's going to leave a mark.

Re:

[VeryFluffyBunny]

While the EU has actually been doing something to counter growing wealth inequality, the UK has pretty much allowed the problem to grow unchecked. It is & always has been a wealth distribution problem. Brexshit has made a pie shrink & so, of course, the rich push even more of the pain onto the poor to compensate.

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[timeOday]

The UK gini index was lower in 2020 than it was in 1990 [statista.com].

The US cannot say the same [researchgate.net].

Re:

[serviscope_minor]

Not sure why you think I think that. Our gini index is not good and the entire economy is not doing great.

We will need to kick out the incompetent fuckers who did this.

Pie is still bigger than it was in the 80s

[rsilvergun]

and you had everything you needed to give everyone an OK standard of living back then. You're making weird excuses. Like I said to the other guy, it's creepy. You shouldn't justify the abuse your masters give you, you should be asking why even have master?

That's not what he said

[rsilvergun]

he didn't say you were poorer, he said you *have to accept* being poorer.

He told you to suck it down and get used to it, pleeb. It's weird and creepy seeing you defending him instead of getting angry at him. Like an abused spouse defending her husband while hiding their black eye...

Re:

[serviscope_minor]

We are poorer. Do you propose we deny reality? Is that where your wired fantasy/hallucination about my answer comes from?

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[jellomizer]

A great Ideology will fail with a poor implementation, a crappy Ideology if implemented well can be very successful.

While money isn't the only factor in a good implementation, it defiantly helps get it going, and lack of money will be implementation extremely difficult.

Also as a general world wide protest against China, it seems like every nation is trying to get into semiconductor business as well. Which would cut down on the exports from their country, as every country will have their own.

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[blugalf]

Ambition is a by-product of wealth.

Or size and scale.

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[chthon]

Not only that, but they have been blind to this fact since the creation of Tube Alloys.

UK may avoid big boondoggles

[Tablizer]

UK is not in a financial position for experimental investments right now. It's probably the right call. Maybe pick a niche to subsidize to narrow spending needed.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

By ambition

[rsilvergun]

They mean more taxpayer money for private corporations. Privatize the profits socialize the expenses.
br How about we do it this way. If you want taxpayer money for your private company the government buys stock in your company like any other person investing. And not the cheap stuff either actual voting shares. My tax dollars are valuable so I want something valuable in return.

It's not a race

[drinkypoo]

Smaller nation spends less on something, gosh wow

who wrote this summary?!?

[KiloByte]

Semiconductors, or microchips, are the "brains" of electronic devices, formed by wafers of silicon that are key to most forms of modern technology, from cars, smartphones and kitchen devices to power stations.

WTF -- even if you link to a tabloid, do you really need to quote them directly?

Re:

[phantomfive]

Silicon is an element often used, along with plastics, to make the brains of electronics.

Re:

[groobly]

How many wafers do I need to assemble to make a microchip?

Re:who wrote this summary?!?

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Only two. The technology ice-cream goes in between.