Taiwan to invest $300m in grad schools to stem chip brain drain

TAIPEI -- Taiwanese authorities and major chipmakers are investing at least $300 million to create graduate programs for the semiconductor industry over the next decade, in a move aimed at protecting the island's chip economy as the U.S. and China seek to cultivate their own talent and bring production onshore.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest chipmaker, and local peers such as MediaTek and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. told Nikkei Asia they would endorse the campaign to build additional high-end chip schools. The companies said that talented employees are key to keeping the chip industry competitive -- a sector directly linked to national security.