That’s right, semiconductors (aka microchips) are responsible for virtually all the modern technology we’ve come to rely on. But advanced medicine and artificial intelligence are just the beginning—these small but powerful chips are shaping our future in every way. You’re welcome.
Semiconductors are the brains of all modern electronics, with the ability to make billions of computations per second and store vast quantities of data. It’s because of their incredible processing power that we have smartphones, computers, video games, cloud storage, space travel, and advanced medical equipment.
And because they’re the basis of so much technology, as semiconductors continue to advance, so will the pace of innovation.
Microchips in daily use around the world—that’s equal to the number of stars in our corner of the Milky Way
As amazing as semiconductors are, what goes into making them is truly a feat of human ingenuity. They are produced with almost inconceivable precision—atomic layer by atomic layer—in multi-billion-dollar facilities (called fabs) around the globe.
In fact, semiconductor manufacturing is a huge industry and continues to grow—with global revenues that will top $500B in 2019 and surpass $1T by 2025.
Number of semiconductor transistors produced each second—that’s hundreds of quintillions per year
Whether you’re driving a car, surfing the internet or using a computer, everything depends on semiconductors—billions of them. Bottom line, innovation in semiconductors means innovation across the board and around the globe.
Advances in chip design have supercharged processor speeds and unlocked the power of AI. Now and into the future, this technology will influence our everyday lives—predicting traffic flows, modeling weather forecasts, powering voice assistants like Alexa, and far beyond.
Semiconductors made mapping the human genome possible in the early 2000s. Now even more powerful chips are driving biotech game-changers—from CRISPR gene editing, to biologic drugs made of living organisms, to home DNA test kits, and more.
Thanks to better microchips, robots have evolved into highly-intelligent machines that can perform surgery, deliver packages, and rove the surface of Mars. The next great robotics leap will integrate AI and enable even more autonomy.
Because of powerful new semiconductors, self-driving cars are truly just around the corner. In the near future, vehicles will rely on AI with machine learning, allowing them to think on the fly, communicate with other cars, and avoid unknown obstacles.
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