seems credible but who are the "competitors" that are scared if they know their progress? If I am producing ASICs it does not matter when these guys ship.
That's all true.
But on the other hand, there are defensive business practices in industries where your net worth goes home at night. And they involve making sure everyone is very tight lipped, and no one makes an independent decision as to what they should or should not say down at the bar, to the girlfriend, or on the social media.
There's an old saying: Macy's doesn't tell Gimbel's. Whether or not it mattered.