The Biden administration is preparing to expand US export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, targeting several Chinese chip factories. However, the new rule will exempt key allies like Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea, limiting its impact on major chip equipment manufacturers. The move aims to curb China’s technological advancements while maintaining diplomatic relations with key partners.
A research team from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has developed a new AI technology called CRAM, which significantly reduces energy consumption by eliminating the need for data to travel between memory and processing units. This innovative approach could revolutionize the energy efficiency of AI workloads, addressing the growing concerns about the energy demands of powerful AI systems.
Intel is actively recruiting senior engineers from TSMC, even as it outsources its own next-generation processors to the Taiwanese giant. This move signals a fierce competition brewing in the semiconductor industry, with Intel aiming to challenge TSMC’s dominance.
TSMC has finalized its first wave of purchases for ASML’s advanced High-NA EUV lithography machines, solidifying its position as ASML’s largest customer and driving the company’s future growth. This move signifies TSMC’s commitment to its next-generation A14 process node, expected to enter mass production in Q3 2027, and its dominance in the chip manufacturing industry.
TSMC has reportedly turned down NVIDIA’s request for a dedicated packaging line for its GPUs, citing the high demand for advanced packaging and limited capacity. The news highlights the growing importance of packaging in the semiconductor industry, especially for AI chip production, and the challenges faced by companies like TSMC in meeting the demand.
Lawmakers and experts warn that a failure to deter China from invading Taiwan could lead to a deadly conflict between Beijing’s troops and the United States. Taiwan’s strategic location and critical role in the global semiconductor industry make it a potential flashpoint for a wider confrontation.
Samsung is facing a potential crisis as the National Samsung Electronics Union has announced a strike for June 7. The union, representing 20% of Samsung’s workforce, is demanding higher salaries, performance bonuses, and more annual leave. Should the strike escalate, it could disrupt production of smartphones, semiconductors, and other electronic devices, potentially impacting Samsung’s upcoming product releases and the global supply chain.
In response to perceived unfair trade practices by China, US President Joe Biden has implemented significant tariffs on a range of goods, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, batteries, steel, aluminium, and solar cells. The tariffs aim to support American manufacturers and ensure that the country is not held back by unfair competition. Biden emphasized that he wants fair competition with China and believes that the United States is well-positioned to win the 21st-century economic competition.
SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund has been quietly selling off billions of dollars’ worth of its publicly-listed holdings, a sign of founder Masayoshi Son’s shift away from the venture capital deals that were once an obsession and toward strategic investments in semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The world’s biggest startup fund has seen its US-listed portfolio shrink by almost $29 billion since the end of 2021, as it sold down stakes in companies such as Coupang Inc., DoorDash Inc. and Grab Holdings Ltd. and share prices fell. The one-time tech kingmaker is now a shadow of its former self, having laid off more than a hundred staff and slowed new investments to a fraction of its past pace. Son is selling off assets from the fund’s portfolio as he prepares for possible forays into AI and related hardware, according to people familiar with the billionaire’s thinking.
Samsung Electronics has reported a substantial increase in its operating profit for the first quarter of 2024, driven by soaring demand for its servers, memory chips, and storage solutions used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The company’s total revenue rose by 12.8% to KRW 71.2 trillion ($52.2 billion), while net profit surged by 330% to KRW 6.75 trillion ($4.88 billion) compared to the same period last year.
