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387 points reaperducer | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.285s | source
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SubiculumCode ◴[] No.45772210[source]
Given that AI is a national security matter now, I'd expect the U.S.A to step in and rescue certain companies in the event of a crash. However, I'd give higher chances to NVIDIA than OpenAI. Weights are easily transferrable and the expertise is in the engineers, but ability to continue making advanced chips is not as easily transferred.
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embedding-shape ◴[] No.45772241[source]
Why is ML knowledge "in the engineers" while chip manufacturing apparently sits in the company/hardware/something else than the engineers/humans?
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NBJack ◴[] No.45772325[source]
Read up a bit on the effort needed to get a fab going, and the yield rates. While engineers are crucial in the setup, the fab itself is not as 'fungible' as the employees involved.

I can spin up a strong ML team through hiring in probably 6-12 months with the right funding. Building a chip fab and getting it to a sensible yield would take 3-5 years, significantly more funding, strong supply lines, etc.

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1. wongarsu ◴[] No.45772443[source]
But the fabs don't belong to NVIDIA, they belong to TSMC. I have no doubt that Taiwan and maybe even the US government would step in to save TSMC if for some reason it got existential problems, but that doesn't provide an argument for saving NVIDIA