🌐 Module 8 · Context and the Future · Chapter 8.2 · 9 min read

Turkey's Semiconductor Strategy

Domestic production, national security, economy — SIDRA's strategic role.

Prerequisites

What you'll learn here

  • State Türkiye's current semiconductor capacity and gaps
  • Identify the national semiconductor strategy (if any) and missing policy areas
  • Explain ASELSAN, BİLGEM, university roles
  • Detail SIDRA's significance for Türkiye
  • Sketch the 5-10-20-year national AI chip vision

Hook: Where Is Türkiye?

Semiconductor giants: US, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Japan. Türkiye? Not on any global ranking.

Current Türkiye:

  • ASELSAN: military chips (250 nm, limited capacity).
  • BİLGEM (TÜBİTAK): R&D + 130 nm pilot.
  • METU, Bilkent, ITU: research.
  • No full fab. No commercial foundry.

SIDRA targets filling that gap.

Intuition: 3 Missing Areas

For semiconductors, Türkiye is missing:

  1. Production capacity: no modern fab.
  2. Equipment supply: dependence on ASML, Applied Materials, etc.
  3. Talent pool: limited number of engineers.

SIDRA grows all three simultaneously.

Formalism: Türkiye Semiconductor Balance Sheet

L1 · Başlangıç

Existing facilities:

OrgLocationCapability
ASELSAN MGEOAnkara250 nm CMOS, military
BİLGEMGebze130 nm pilot, R&D
UNAM (Bilkent)AnkaraNanotech research + SIDRA
METU MEMSAnkaraMEMS sensors
Vestel chip labIstanbulDesign

Missing:

  • 90 nm and finer commercial foundry.
  • 28 nm modern AI chip capacity.
  • EUV experience.
  • Heterogeneous integration (CoWoS).

National policy:

2023: Türkiye National Microelectronics Strategy (Ministry of Industry). 5-year plan.

  • Target: 90 nm domestic foundry by 2028.
  • Budget: ~$1B public support.
  • Implementation incomplete.

Compare US CHIPS Act ($53B): 50× difference. Türkiye underfunded.

SIDRA in this strategy:

  • Y1 workshop (UNAM) is the strategy’s first concrete output.
  • Y10 mini-fab (METU CMP) targets the 2030 national fab goal.
  • Y100 full fab is the long-term horizon.
L2 · Tam

Strategic importance:

National security:

  • Defense industry (F-16 modernization, ALTAY tank, UAV) chip needs.
  • Currently US/EU sourced. Sanction risk.
  • Domestic SIDRA → secure.

Economic:

  • Semiconductor exports $200B globally by 2030.
  • Türkiye 1% = $2B/year export potential.
  • 100K+ employment.

Technological:

  • AI dependency → data sovereignty → democratic values.
  • Türkiye’s positioning in the AI era.

Scientific:

  • Publications, patents.
  • Reverse brain drain.

SIDRA’s concrete contributions:

  • 17+ direct jobs starting 2026 (UNAM workshop).
  • 95 by 2030 (mini-fab).
  • 1000+ by 2035 (full fab + ecosystem).
  • 50+ academic publications.
  • 100+ patents (memristor + neuromorphic).
  • Turkish PhD students.

Policy recommendations:

  1. CHIPS Act-equivalent Türkiye program: $5-10B over 5 years.
  2. Talent program: train 1000 semiconductor engineers in 5 years.
  3. Supply-chain investment: TSMC alternative, Europe/Asia connections.
  4. EUV partner: diplomacy with the Netherlands.
  5. Ecosystem support: funding for SIDRA-class startups.
L3 · Derin

Comparison: Taiwan model:

TSMC founded 1987. State support (Hsinchu Science Park, tax breaks, university partnerships).

40 years later: world’s most valuable tech firm (TSMC).

Could Türkiye 2026 SIDRA → 2065 SIDRA become a world leader? Probability small but nonzero.

Comparison: South Korea model:

Samsung Electronics started semiconductors in 1969. 50 years later, DRAM/NAND leader.

State + chaebol consortium. In Türkiye, big conglomerates like Sabancı/Koç can play similar roles.

Comparison: China model:

SMIC founded 2000. 25 years to 7 nm CMOS. State $40B investment. Fast but geopolitically limited.

Lesson for Türkiye: long-term plan + big investment + collaboration. SIDRA is the small starting point.

National AI ecosystem:

Semiconductors aren’t just chips:

  • Design (EDA tools, IP).
  • Manufacturing (fab).
  • Test + packaging.
  • Software (compiler, SDK).
  • Product (applications).

SIDRA targets bringing the full chain to Türkiye. Post-Y10, the full ecosystem.

Risks:

  • Political instability.
  • Budget cuts.
  • Brain drain.
  • Geopolitics (sanctions, visas).

Managing these risks = strategic call. SIDRA’s success is the first sign of Türkiye’s semiconductor sovereignty.

Experiment: Türkiye Semiconductor 2035 Scenarios

Optimistic scenario:

  • 2026: SIDRA Y1 product, national announcement.
  • 2028: SIDRA Y10 mini-fab pilot. Türkiye CHIPS Act ($5B).
  • 2030: SIDRA Y10 serial 1M chips/year. 100+ startups.
  • 2032: New Turkish fab founded; GlobalFoundries-Türkiye partnership.
  • 2035: SIDRA Y100 full fab. Türkiye 1% of semiconductor market.

Realistic:

  • 2026: SIDRA Y1 prototype.
  • 2030: Y10 mini-fab.
  • 2035: SIDRA the center of the Turkish AI ecosystem.

Pessimistic:

  • Budget cut.
  • 2030: SIDRA still UNAM workshop.

Which scenario realizes depends on political decisions. SIDRA sets the target; state support determines.

Quick Quiz

1/6Türkiye's most advanced current semiconductor capability?

Lab Exercise

Türkiye semiconductor strategy policy proposal.

Questions:

(a) Which sectors should buy SIDRA chips first?

  • Defense (ASELSAN, TUSAŞ).
  • Automotive (Togg, Ford-Otosan).
  • Telecom (Turk Telekom 5G).
  • Public sector (e-government AI).

(b) Talent program: 1000 semiconductor engineers in 5 years. From where?

  • University capacity expansion.
  • PhD scholarships (US/EU return-bound).
  • Private-sector training centers.

(c) SIDRA success criteria:

  • 2030: 1M chips/year + $300M revenue.
  • 2035: Y100 full fab + $5B/year + 1000+ jobs.

Cheat Sheet

  • Türkiye semiconductor status: weak (130-250 nm pilot).
  • Missing: modern foundry, EUV, big financing.
  • SIDRA contribution: Y1 workshop, Y10 mini-fab, Y100 full fab vision.
  • Policy need: Türkiye CHIPS Act ($5-10B).
  • 2030 target: SIDRA $1B+ revenue.
  • 2035 target: Türkiye 1% global.

Vision: Türkiye Semiconductor Power

  • 2026: SIDRA Y1 start.
  • 2030: Y10 mini-fab, ecosystem formed.
  • 2035: Y100 full fab, global player.
  • 2040: Türkiye semiconductor exports $20B+.
  • 2050: A TSMC-like global leader? Probability small but nonzero.

Further Reading