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The semiconductor industry exhibits extreme concentration across multiple dimensions: Design Intellectual Property: Five companies control over 80% of critical IP blocks used in modern chip designs. This concentration creates artificial scarcity and inflates licensing costs, with some IP blocks costing millions of dollars to license for a single project. EDA Tools: Three corporations dominate the EDA tool market, with annual licenses exceeding $1 million for comprehensive toolchains. This creates an insurmountable barrier to entry for independent designers and small teams. Fabrication Access: Advanced node fabrication (7nm and below) is concentrated in just three companies globally, with minimum order quantities often exceeding $10 million. Talent Concentration: The top 20 semiconductor companies employ the vast majority of experienced chip designers, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of centralization.