Why Has Hardware Infrastructure Diverged From Open Software?
summary
Argues that hardware stays closed because of unavoidable capital and institutional gaps: EDA licenses cost €100K–€1M per seat, top EDA vendors hold ~74% market share, and cutting‑edge lithography machines cost about €380M, blocking production even for open RISC‑V designs. Notes DARPA‑funded OpenROAD advanced PDK toolchains but ran out of grant runway. Proposes an “Open Hardware Infrastructure Works” as a public utility funded by long‑term bonds with tripartite governance to employ engineers, operate shared tooling, and convert infrastructure into sustainable services.
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chapters (16)
- 0:00Introduction and background
- 1:09The hidden barrier in hardware
- 3:16Proprietary infrastructure limits
- 5:03Divergence of open software and hardware
- 7:31Barriers to open hardware innovation
- 10:00Proposal for open hardware infrastructure
- 13:32Unaddressed harms in hardware production
- 14:34Q&A begins
- 14:55Open hardware ecosystem exists
- 17:45Public investment priorities
- 19:54Supply chain transparency challenges
- 21:17Governance and ethical dilemmas
- 23:01Visibility of hardware harms
- 23:43Wafer sharing vs. niche production
- 24:46Realistic policy approaches
- 25:31Closing remarks
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