What makes automotive semiconductor design a terrible business initially, yet an exceptional business over the long run?

Automotive semiconductor development requires massive upfront capital, rigorous automotive-grade safety certifications, and exceptionally slow return cycles. Developing a new automotive chip takes three to four years of engineering. Once verified, winning a design nomination and integrating it into an automaker's vehicle platform requires another two to five years before mass production begins. That five-to-eight-year cycle sounds terrible to short-term investors, but it creates an extraordinarily high barrier to entry that shields incumbents from casual competition. Once you achieve market leadership, you can sleep peacefully because competitors cannot copy your position overnight.