Game of Chips: How Semiconductors Became the High-Stakes Poker of Global Power

Chips are the new cards. Nations are the players. Power is the pot. In Game of Chips, Salah Nasri reveals how the semiconductor industry became the most consequential poker table on Earth where every nation, company, and leader is placing their bets on technology, strategy, and survival. From the invention of the transistor to today’s AI-driven fabs, Nasri demystifies the chipmaking process through the lens of high-stakes poker; bets, bluffs, folds, and all-ins that shape global power. Each chapter deals you a new hand: from ASML’s EUV lithography breakthroughs and TSMC’s foundry dominance to the CHIPS Act, China’s Big Fund, and the race for quantum and AI supremacy. This comprehensive yet accessible handbook connects geopolitics, economics, and innovation in a way anyone can understand whether you’re a curious newcomer or a seasoned industry insider. Discover how chips became the new oil of the 21st century. Understand the players — from Intel, NVIDIA, and Samsung to the U.S., China, and the EU. Learn the strategies driving AI, advanced packaging, and the next generation of technology. At the final table of innovation, one truth remains clear: whoever controls semiconductors, controls the future. Pull up a chair; the Game of Chips has begun. Salah Nasri is the President & CEO of the International Semiconductor Industry Group (ISIG) and host of the Semiconductor Leadership Podcast. A Stanford alumnus and global semiconductor advocate, Nasri has spent his career connecting industry leaders, investors, and governments across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Game of Chips is his definitive handbook on the industry that powers our modern world View Less