The internet is "Too Big to Fail" - part two: who owns everything that makes the web work A Dutch guy, three Koreans, and a Taiwanese person decide if your next phone exists. And we haven't even talked about who controls the power grid. Conversation about the investigation (7 min). Kilowatto and Leia are characters; both voices are synthetic. This conversation summarises the piece, it does not replace it. The full text, with sources and charts, is on kilowatto.com. --- Kilowatto: Leia, quick one. Is the entire encrypted web reliant on certificates issued by a for-profit company? Leia: Yes, that is what most people would assume, given the importance of the task. Kilowatto: That is what almost everybody answers. The entire encrypted web relies on certificates issued for free by a non-profit organization, Let's Encrypt, which is 100% supported through donations. Leia: Hang on. What? Kilowatto: Hey! Let's go straight to the bottom of it, because today I have a Deep Dive: The internet is "Too Big to Fail" - part two: who owns everything that makes the web work. A Dutch guy, three Koreans, and a Taiwanese person decide if your next phone exists. And we haven't even talked about who controls the power grid. Leia: Alright Kilowatto, where do we start? Kilowatto: I found that Starlink operates 9,600 of 10,622 LEO internet satellites, for a concentration of 90.4 out of 100. Leia: What's the 90.4 mean? Kilowatto: It means Starlink operates 90.4% of all LEO internet satellites, according to the SAMCI index. Leia: Is that a lot? Kilowatto: Well, it's a significant majority, and it's based on data from March 31, 2026, and other cut-off dates. Leia: What's the source of that data? Kilowatto: The SAMCI index, which uses inputs like Starlink's 9,600 satellites as of March 31, 2026, and OneWeb's 647 satellites as of December 31, 2025. Leia: Is 90.4% the only figure? Kilowatto: I found TSMC controls 72% of the global foundry market in Q1 2026, according to TrendForce. Leia: 72%? Is that right? Kilowatto: Well, it's actually 72%, not 72.3% as I initially thought, with revenues of almost 35,860 million dollars. Leia: What's the revenue? Kilowatto: It's 35,860 million dollars, with a 6.3% quarterly increase, compared to Samsung's 6.5% and SMIC's 5.1%. Leia: Is Samsung's share higher? Kilowatto: No, TSMC's share is higher, and it's been increasing - in Q2 2026, it was 73%, according to Counterpoint. Leia: So it's still going up? Kilowatto: AWS, Azure, and GCP control 63% of the public cloud market, with Amazon at 28%, Microsoft at 20%, and Google at 15%. Leia: What's the total market size? Kilowatto: It's a $143.4 billion quarterly market, with 12-month rolling revenues over $500 billion and 43% year-over-year growth. Leia: Is that growth rate high? Kilowatto: Yes, it's the highest in eight years, according to Synergy Research Group. Leia: What about the previous quarter's numbers? Kilowatto: The numbers were 28/21/14 out of $128.6 billion, with 35% growth, still dominated by the three hyperscalers. Leia: So, they have a lot of power, right? Kilowatto: I found a memory cartel with a court case number of 5:26-cv-06345-NW, which is a correction from my initial draft. Leia: What's the case about? Kilowatto: The complaint alleges that three companies - Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron - deliberately reduced the supply of DRAM commodity, leading to a price increase of approximately 700% in four years. Leia: 700% in four years, is that right? Kilowatto: Yes, according to the complaint, the price increase was 171.8% interannual in the third quarter of 2025, 50% more in the fourth, and between 93% and 98% quarterly in the first quarter of 2026. Leia: What's the current status of the case? Kilowatto: The case was reassigned, and the companies have taken a stance, with Micron stating they will defend themselves against the allegations, and Samsung's defense team agreeing to a deadline to respond or seek dismissal. Leia: When is the deadline? Kilowatto: I found the encrypted web relies on free certificates issued by a non-profit organization, with 762 million sites served. Leia: How many sites did it serve initially? Kilowatto: It went from 492 million sites to 762 million in a year, with 10 million certificates issued on some days. Leia: What percentage of page loads were encrypted when it started? Kilowatto: When it started, 39% of page loads were encrypted, and today over 95% are encrypted in many parts of the world. Leia: How is the organization funded? Kilowatto: The organization is 100% supported through donations, which is concerning given its importance. Leia: Is that 100% donation rate unusual? Kilowatto: I found data centers will consume 950 TWh of energy by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Leia: 950 TWh, is that a lot? Kilowatto: Well, it's around 3% of global electricity demand by that date, which is significant. Leia: What's the baseline for comparison? Kilowatto: The baseline is 415 TWh in 2024, close to 1.5% of global electricity consumption. Leia: How much will it increase by 2030? Kilowatto: It will increase to 950 TWh, with the US adding around 240 TWh by 2030, a 130% increase. Leia: Is that just for the US or global? Kilowatto: I found that ASML's annual report reveals they own 24.9% of Carl Zeiss SMT Holding since 2016, and paid 1 billion euros in cash. Leia: How much was the cash payment? Kilowatto: It was 1 billion euros, plus 220 million in R&D and 540 million in capex over six years, to develop High-NA optics. Leia: What's the goal of the investment? Kilowatto: The goal is to develop High-NA optics, and as of 2025, ASML has three loans to Zeiss, including two lines of up to 1 billion each. Leia: How much was drawn from the 2021 line? Kilowatto: 839.1 million was drawn from the 2021 line, and 610.0 from the 2024 line, with a third loan of 444 million euros granted in July 2025. Leia: What was the profit from the participation? Kilowatto: I found the US Department of Commerce no longer has power to approve changes to the root zone since October 1, 2016. Leia: What happened in 2016? Kilowatto: The joint proposal from Verisign and ICANN changed one word with enormous consequences, from authorize to authenticate, eliminating the NTIA's role. Leia: Is that when the button died? Kilowatto: Yes, the button died, and Verisign was released from its responsibilities, with amendments 33 and 34 on October 20, 2016. Leia: What replaced the NTIA's role? Kilowatto: A private contract with a term of 8 years, and accountability is now internal to ICANN, with a Customer Standing Committee reviewing PTI's performance. Leia: Is the US completely out of the picture? Kilowatto: That is the short version. The piece has the sources, the charts and the parts we skipped. Leia: The full investigation is on kilowatto.com, under Deep Dives. Look for "internet-too-big-to-fail-2".