Present-day wars can take many forms. They might not be conducted with guns or bombs. We often see nations compete in international sporting competitions, trade wars and even tech wars.

Since silicon chips became ubiquitous components in items like phones, cars, and consumer electronics, the semiconductor has become a key “war zone,” even nicknamed “the oil of the 21st century.” Many compete to lead the silicon field and thus gain an economic advantage. We can say the 21st century is in “the Silicon Wars.” But ever since WWII and the Cold War, competition to develop semiconductors for aerospace programs consumed the U.S. and Soviet Union.

Today on Taiwan History, we head back to the very start of “the Silicon Wars.”