Cisco CEO Expects Global Chip Shortage to Continue Through Rest of 2021
Things might start looking better after another six months.
Amid the global microchip shortage, the chief of Cisco — a company responsible for handling 85 percent of all Internet traffic — has said that he expects the industry to be affected for the rest of the year.
“We think we’ve got another six months to get through the short term,” Cisco’s CEO Chuck Robbins told the BBC. “The providers are building out more capacity. And that’ll get better and better over the next 12 to 18 months.” He added that “Right now, it is a big problem because semiconductors go in virtually everything,” including being used in technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 5G.
With roughly 75 percent of global semiconductor manufacturing taking place in East Asia, U.S. President Joe Biden and the White House have also realized the need to increase domestic production, meeting with various computing industry leaders to emphasize this “top and immediate priority.” Intel has already taken steps towards realizing this goal, earlier announcing a $20 billion USD investment in expanding its microchip production capacity.
Elsewhere in the tech industry, YouTube has begun sharing COVID-19 vaccination public service announcements.
