risks of relying so heavily on a couple of facilities in Taiwan to manufacture a large share of the world’s chips. In 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Taiwan, knocking out power across much of the country, including from two nuclear power plants. TSMC’s fabs lost power, too, threatening the company’s production and many of the world’s chips. Morris Chang was quickly on the phone with Taiwanese officials to ensure the company got preferential access to electricity.
