Arm co-founder: Britain's chip strat 'couldn’t be any worse'
- Reference: 1677781985
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/03/02/uk_govt_criticized_arm_founder/
- Source link:
Jamie Urquhart, one of the co-founders of the Brit chip design company and who now works as an adviser, said the government's game plan "couldn't be any worse than it is at the moment."
The remarks come after another Arm co-founder, Hermann Hauser, criticized the approach last year and joined a group of other tech industry sages urging the politicians to take immediate action.
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Speaking to [2]Bloomberg , Urquhart said there has been very little continuity in the British government's strategy on technology and semiconductors in particular, perhaps a reference to the tendency of successive governments to tear up the previous administration's policies.
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"Even now we are waiting for the government to come out with a semiconductor strategy," he commented. "It doesn't take that much to start looking forward and thinking about what you are going to do, but you've got to do it."
The government's official semiconductor strategy was expected at least as far back as April last year, when Lord Callanan informed the House of Commons that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was working on one "to be published shortly."
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In November 2022, a House of Commons Committee report said the UK was [6]missing out on semiconductor investment due to an absent strategic plan of action.
It contained testimony from witnesses such as Rina Pal-Goetzen, director of global policy at the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), who had told the Committee that decisions were being made "right now" by companies on where to locate manufacturing over the next five to 10 years, and that it was "very urgent" that countries should consider whether they wanted to be part of the supply chain.
In January, a group of technology industry leaders published an [7]open letter to the Prime Minister warning that Britain's status as a leading tech ecosystem is at risk over the delay, and that technology and manufacturing sectors have been waiting more than two years for a promised strategy.
[8]Arm has legs: VMware's Bitnami starts packaging apps for Graviton and Ampere
[9]Bosch-backed VCs pour more funds into Brit quantum silicon chips
[10]Arm China lays off staff amid chip war and licensing concerns
[11]Intel wants another €3.2b from German gov for Magdeburg mega fab
One of the signatories to the letter was Hermann Hauser, who last year said that the UK has "no chance in hell" of being [12]technologically self-reliant , and that Europe and the UK needed to have access to critical technologies so as not to be dependent on other countries such as the US.
Hauser said at the time the situation for the UK was particularly dire thanks to no discernible technology plan from the government, and it seems like we are still waiting, despite the government's insistence at numerous points over the past 12 months that its document "will be published as soon as possible."
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"I think the government are just either unwilling to grasp the nettle or maybe they've got way too many things to do and aren't thinking about it," Urquhart said. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZAEqkSqr-mopC3XBZDYg2AAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-02/arm-co-founder-says-uk-s-tech-strategy-couldn-t-be-any-worse
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZAEqkSqr-mopC3XBZDYg2AAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZAEqkSqr-mopC3XBZDYg2AAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZAEqkSqr-mopC3XBZDYg2AAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/uk_semiconductor_industry/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/26/uk_prime_minister_rishi_sunak_chip_strategy/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/27/bitnami_arm_support/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/21/quantum_motion_funding/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/13/arm_china_lays_off_staff/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/09/intel_10b_german_fab/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/29/arm_founder_uk_tech_sovereignty/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZAEqkSqr-mopC3XBZDYg2AAAAIo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The government does care two pence
Not quite. Their role is to sell out to whoever provides them with the greatest personal opportunities although they might prefer those came from the US.
Now there's a challenge
"couldn't be any worse" has proved to be a fairly temporary state of affairs with the current government. This is the same group that gave us Brexit, The Hostile Environment, Trussonomics and replaced Patel with... Braverman. They're certainly up to this challenge.
Well the government did decide to give bankers their uncapped bonuses back - is that not what matters to modern Britain?
Oh and we got our "red white and blue" Brexit, but of course that mix is really rather brown...
Technology strategy
I don't think we've had a government technology strategy since Tony Benn - at least we got Concorde and Post Office tower out of that
Re: Technology strategy
While we were in the EU things were rolling along quite nicely (on the tech investment and education front), but only because of EU. Now the ship is totally rudderless.
Re: Technology strategy
I seem to remember the having and maintaining of R&D and regional investment strategies that lasted longer than The party in power at Westminster was seen as a good thing. It does look like a new generation is having to relearn the lessons of the 1970s & 1980s…
The Tories are only interested in boosterism. Reality is irrelevant to them. First the Fat Spaffer, then airhead Liz-Inflation-Truss.
Sunak is more rooted in reality, but sections of his party will fight him hard.
UK's FPTP system is now beyond repair and defunct.
"locate manufacturing over the next five to 10 years"
That is more than one or two electoral cycles into the future. What interests politicians are things that they can brag about when next at the hustings. Even worse the other lot might be in power then, so why do work today to help the opposition in the future?
You neglected one very obvious option
"I think the government are just either unwilling to grasp the nettle or maybe they've got way too many things to do and aren't thinking about it."
...OR, the obvious option: perhaps they simply don't know anything about how to go about solving the problem.
And, not to put too fine a point on this: "...aren't thinking about it." is a foregone conclusion, and direct evidence of not knowing anything about how to solve the problem.
Re: You neglected one very obvious option
I'm not even convinced they think it's a problem.
As long as they're alright, Jack.
Re: You neglected one very obvious option
Stupidity, ignorance and failure to consult come to mind way before they actually start thinking about anything ....
DCMS?
"The government's official semiconductor strategy was expected at least as far back as April last year, when Lord Callanan informed the House of Commons that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was working on one "to be published shortly.""
Err, why would the DCMS be looking at semiconductor strategy? Surely it ought to be a science or technolgy or business-led strategy/policy/whatever? !!! :(
Re: DCMS?
Well given the changes at DCMS, suspect the strategy is on hold until the reorganisation dust has settled…
Re: DCMS?
But, look! It says "Digital", so it must be science!
Nothing but deluded oxbridge BA graduates in the Cabinet room, so no surprises there. Even go to the tech capital of the UK, Cambridge where ARM is headquartered and you will find nothing but out of touch upper-middle class folk from the private school system in leadership positions well beyond their skill level. It's an old boys club and anyone with talent is exploited and underpaid to keep the class system structures in place.
All ARM's serious designs are done in the US for that reason and their little cores will probably follow suit. 110 Fulbourn road is full of do-nothing jobsworths and middle managers and Softbank hasn't copped on that all the real talent got fed up and left years ago.
oxbridge
This analysis is broadly correct, but let down by:
"Nothing but deluded oxbridge BA graduates"
and
"the tech capital of the UK, Cambridge where ARM is headquartered"
The "bridge" part of "oxbridge" stands for Cambridge. Where ARM is headquartered. You can't bash Oxbridge while praising Cambridge, unless you've got a serious downer on Oxford.
Which is possible, I suppose.
-A.
Re: oxbridge
Wwl Cambridge is always where the serious maths is done. Oxford used to have physics, but the PPE has really driven down the standards of the place.
"I think the government are just either unwilling to grasp the nettle or maybe they've got way too many things to do and aren't thinking about it," Urquhart said.
He was being polite. They don't have a clue and are filling in their time looking busy pursuing anything that will distract the public.
World Beating Brexit Britain
What's odd is that Tories are usually chasing 'the next big thing' as a means of putting tax payer money in their bestest pal's back pockets, earning a back-hander and party donation for their efforts, ensuring a lucrative career when they leave politics.
So what does it say that there's no sign of any interest in having a tech strategy?
It makes me shudder speculating on what they might know which no one else does.
I presume they see tech as some kind of manufacturing industry, incompatible with their brexit vision of making Britain a third world country while they wall themselves up in their Singapore on Thames enclave with the bankers and the rest of the elite mega-rich scum.
The government does care two pence
The government's sole job is to suck up as hard as possible to the USA, even to the detriment of this country.