Hygon Explained: How China Got Its Own x86 Processor
China has tried several approaches to building its own processors. Loongson eventually created an entirely new instruction set called LoongArch.…
Tag: economy
The Semiconductor Market 2026 Just Hit $425 Billion in a Quarter and AI Is Still Flooring the Accelerator
The semiconductor industry apparently looked at its previous records and decided they were merely suggestions. Global semiconductor revenue climbed past $425…
YMTC Explained: Can China Really Overtake Samsung in NAND?
Imagine entering one of the most brutal semiconductor markets in the world nearly three decades after the established leaders. Then imagine…
Is There Such a Thing as Good Capitalism?
There is a strange way to describe the modern economy. Most of us spend our lives doing two things. First, we sell…
Loongson Explained: Can China Build a CPU Without Intel, AMD, or Arm?
Imagine spending years designing your own CPU architecture because you no longer want to depend on Intel, AMD, Arm, or…
Carlo Cipolla and the Strange Economics of Human Stupidity
There is something comforting about selfish people. Not pleasant, obviously. You probably do not want one managing your retirement fund, borrowing…
Lisuan Explained: Why Building a GPU Takes More Than Money
China has spent enormous amounts of money trying to build a more independent semiconductor industry. And, to be fair, money solves…
What Is Private Equity? The Business of Buying Businesses
Private equity sounds like one of those financial terms deliberately invented to make ordinary people stop asking questions. Private means…
CXMT Explained: Can China Break the Global Memory Monopoly?
This article was updated on August 18, 2026, to include CXMT’s latest DDR5 performance, manufacturing yield, server-memory expansion, market share,…
Human Extinction Series: Extinction by Exhaustion
There is a strange phenomenon happening around the world. Countries are richer than ever. Medicine is better than ever. We…
The End of Startup Fantasy: Unicorns, Unit Economics, and Other Imaginary Creatures
There was a time, not very long ago, when working at a startup sounded like joining the future before everyone…