This image shows the number of people employed in the large American semiconductor company Wolfspeed, which is bankrupt.
The company was founded in 1987 and was then called Cree, i.e. like the Indians we call Kri in Poland. Why did they call the company that? Even Chat GPT doesn't know that.
In 2021, the company changed its name to Wolfspeed. Why did she change? This Chat doesn't know either.
Shortly after Cree was founded, she hired immigrants from the erstwhile russian Union, taking over SiC growth technology. I had the pleasance of knowing the leader of these Vladimir Dmitriev immigrants. He was a smart guy, very nice. The Americans sucked all cognition out of Vladimir and got free of him. Vladimir founded a tiny TDI company, but, unfortunately, shortly afterwards died at the age of just over 50 years of age from a heart attack. Did the Russian comrades not aid him, I do not know, but I imagine they could, due to the fact that this time it was a transfer of cognition from Saint Petersburg (Institute of Ioffe) to North Carolina. This time, due to the fact that earlier the Soviets had stolen quite a few technology from the Americans, headed by a atomic bomb.
Wolfspeed until late was the largest maker of SiC level crystals, and at the same time an crucial supplier of GAN-based LEDs and transistors. Unfortunately, in 2025 the company almost collapsed. He's inactive fighting, but he's in bankruptcy. The share price in October 2024 was $16 and in June 2025 fell to 40 cents (now it is 2.3 USD)! employment from 5000 fell to 3300.
What caused Wolfspeed to die? Also, the customers found that it was much better to buy SiC from Chinese companies Tankeblue and respective others, due to the fact that it is cheaper and better.
I will confess that Wolfspeed's problems should make all European and American decision-makers think. Why?
The success of Tankeblue was born in the Beijing Institute of Physics. prof. Xiaolong Chen, whom I personally know, not only co-founded the company in 2008, but besides continues to conduct a truly wonderful research.
Wolfspeed cooperates with North Carolina Agricultural & method State University, but this is simply a more fake collaboration than the actual one. I have no insight (Chat besides does not have) into R & D expenditures concerning SiC at the Institute of Physics in Beijing, or specified in the NCA&TU, but after publications and lectures, I think it is like 10 to 1. More money in a Chinese academic center translates into Wolfspeed going bankrupt.
Michał Leszczyński
