Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns the US must invest in semiconductors to counter China

Eric Schmidt, chair of the National Security Commission on AI, says US needs to put more money into its semiconductor industry

China could be a few years away from becoming a world leader in technologies underpinning the multitrillion-dollar industries of the future, he said

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Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures and former CEO of Google, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on February 23, during a hearing on emerging technologies and their impact on national security. Photo: AP

Published: 4:29pm, 22 Apr 2021Updated: 4:29pm, 22 Apr 2021

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has called on the US government to build up its semiconductor industry to counter China, urging the country to “take a position and put money behind it”.

“It’s lots of money … that the United States will need to stay two semiconductor generations ahead of the Chinese,” Schmidt said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday.

Schmidt currently serves as the chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, having left his position as an adviser to Google parent company Alphabet last year.

The commission is tasked with making recommendations to the US government on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies related to defence and national security. In March, it issued a report to Congress arguing that “the United States can compete against China without ending collaborative AI research and severing all technology commerce”.

The report recommends the US Department of Defence and intelligence community achieve widespread AI-readiness by 2025, and it proposes new spending on related infrastructure, including in the semiconductor industry. Schmidt indicated that the US has so far been able to meet semiconductor demand with chips made at home, in South Korea, and Taiwan, primarily from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).

“It’s almost certain that we can build a system [for making chips and attracting talent] which is as good as what TSMC did last year. The question is, can we do what they’re doing for next year?” Schmidt said.