Wilko S. Wolters

Min Choi Verified account @minchoi · Oct 8, 2025

2.5 years of AI progress

Modelscope (left)
Grok Imagine 0.9 (right)

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Lubomir Kramar Verified account @Tkog65 · Mar 1, 2025

Everybody loves 'simple' nowadays.

So here’s a simple crash course on the most important industry for the global economy:

There is no $3 trillion 🇺🇸 $NVIDIA without 🇹🇼 $TSMC
There is no $1 trillion 🇹🇼 $TSMC without 🇳🇱 $ASML
There is no $280 billion 🇳🇱 $ASML without 🇩🇪 $ZEISS

See a pattern yet?

We could go on, adding thousands of companies and a hundred more flags to this list.

But none of these companies—and thousands of their suppliers—exist without free trade and the world order that the U.S. has both maintained and benefited from since 1945.

And once you legitimize thugs trampling free-market economies, you'll start crossing out a significant portion of those companies one by one.

Need an example?

Let's take a look at Ukraine.

Surely it couldn't be important for the semiconductor industry since it's the Europe's poorest country, right?

Wrong.

Before 2022, 🇺🇦 Ukraine was the world’s biggest exporter of neon gas—a critical component in semiconductor lithography—supplying 50-55% of global demand.

One of the key manufacturers of neon gas was based in Mariupol—a 🇺🇦 city murdered by 🇷🇺 in front of the entire world.

The other manufacturer is in Odesa—a city still being bombarded daily.

Oh, that wasn’t too bad and everybody adapted?

✔ The price of neon gas skyrocketed by 1,000% between 2022 and 2023.
✔ Electronics prices increased by 5-15% globally, fueling inflation.
✔ The automotive industry suffered two years of supply chain disruptions.
✔ All major tech companies experienced higher costs and delays.
✔ Hundreds of billions of dollars in global economic losses.

And I’m still talking about just ONE component.

Now ask yourself: What happens when another thug comes for 🇹🇼 $TSMC and nobody lifts a finger?

Or 🇰🇷?
Or 🇯🇵?
Or…?

Yeah, multiply those inflation rates you’ve been so worried about by 5 or 10—and you might still be a bit off.

Forget about:
❌ Affordable electronics
❌ Cars
❌ Advanced medical technology
❌ Smart banking
❌ Space exploration
❌ Cryptocurrency mining

Feel free to add any industry that comes to your head to this list—you’re unlikely to be wrong.

Isolationism is cool.

As cool as living in caves.

#Ukraine #USA #Zelenskyy #Vance #Trump
#TSMC #NVDA #ASML #NYSE #NASDAQ

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