Which is more difficult in the semiconductor industry, design or manufacturing?

The manufacturing difficulty is greater.

Currently, there are relatively few companies that balance design and manufacturing;

There are many companies that specialize in design, usually referred to as fabless. With computers, software, and design engineers, one can complete the design and output it to photomask factories, wafer fabrication foundries, and packaging and testing factories for device production.

Becoming a fab factory that only focuses on manufacturing has a high threshold, with a total investment of up to 1 billion US dollars for an 8-inch wafer wafer production line; And manufacturing requires high levels of craftsmanship, chemical control, and cleanliness.

Regarding the profitability of design and manufacturing, the design company has released a design and spent a large amount of money on chip production. Only when the components sell well can the company make a profit, otherwise one chip production can lead to the bankruptcy of a design company; As long as there are orders and equipment in operation, fab factory guarantees not to lose money.