ABSTRACT WARFARE: HOW TSMC MADE ITS OWN MARKET

Summary from the TLDR Founders newsletter

TSMC made it possible to start a chip company without building a factory or depending on a manufacturer that sold competing chips. It manufactured for other designers and committed not to compete with them. A factory's huge upfront cost became something a designer could pay for as its business grew. TSMC initially survived on work existing chipmakers didn't want, while its future customers were still forming. Which expensive step must every new entrant in your market own, and could you sell that step without competing with the companies buying it?