Another way to interpret TSMC/SMIC divergences are the absolute levels of military-industrial grift going on - as soon as the "government" gets involved you can there's a defense contractor selling you military-grade toilet seats for a 5,000% markup even though you can get the same one at Home Depot.
Why should it be different with the promise of "more efficient military" and the material sold being "compute"? The scarcity story helps a lot to drive FOMO.
The "rush" you identified (and compared to the naval & arsenal increases) to front-run a potential need (which in hindsight might be overshooting real future use) is absolutely a part of this.
Another way to interpret TSMC/SMIC divergences are the absolute levels of military-industrial grift going on - as soon as the "government" gets involved you can there's a defense contractor selling you military-grade toilet seats for a 5,000% markup even though you can get the same one at Home Depot.
Why should it be different with the promise of "more efficient military" and the material sold being "compute"? The scarcity story helps a lot to drive FOMO.
The "rush" you identified (and compared to the naval & arsenal increases) to front-run a potential need (which in hindsight might be overshooting real future use) is absolutely a part of this.