Cab vs. Fab — What's the Difference?

A cab, often seen on city streets, offers personal transportation services to passengers looking to move from one location to another without the need for personal vehicles. Whereas a fab, an abbreviation for fabrication plant, specifically refers to a facility where devices like integrated circuits are manufactured, playing a crucial role in the electronics industry.

Cabs are part of the service industry, providing a means of transportation for a fee, calculated based on distance, time, or a combination of both. On the other hand, fabs are a segment of the manufacturing sector, focusing on the production of semiconductor devices, which are essential components in modern electronics.

While cabs require a driver to operate and navigate to the passenger's desired destination, fabs rely on highly sophisticated machinery and clean room environments to produce semiconductors with precision and efficiency.

Cabs can be hailed on the streets or booked through various mobile applications, offering flexibility and immediacy to users. In contrast, fabs involve a complex and lengthy process of semiconductor fabrication, which includes photolithography, etching, and doping, demanding significant investment and planning.

The operational scale and investment in cabs are significantly lower compared to fabs, which require billions of dollars in investment for construction, equipment, and maintenance to remain competitive and produce high-quality semiconductor chips.