The age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the edge is here, companies cannot wait to showcase their solutions and AI PC products at Computex 2024, which will be hosted from June 4-7. Paradoxically, industry experts at the AI PC Industry Exploration Forum on May 16 predicted the phrase "AI PC" or "AI smartphones" will be obsolete in a few years.
The internet giants are building comprehensive ecosystems, in which Generative AI (GenAI) plays a pivotal role. "From cloud to the edge" will be an inevitable trend.
Samsung Electronics has released its business report, revealing changes in its top five clients for the first quarter of 2024. In the latest report, two US-based companies, Bestbuy and Qualcomm, have been replaced by Chinese semiconductor suppliers.
Moore's Law is not advancing as fast as it used to be under 2nm and even into the Angstrom level, and competitors are trying to catch up. Can ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, continue its monopolistic leadership in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment market?
Zinite is seeking to shake up the semiconductor industry through innovations in transistor architecture to achieve more chip performance density. Founded by Gem Shoute, Douglas Barlage, and Kenneth Cadien, and seeking to meet the demands of HPC, AI, and AGI by accelerating 3D chip adoption, Zinite's core technology is a thin-film transistor (TFT) with CMOS-level drive current and a large temperature process window, including channel material processing stability at 400C.
Recent data indicates an uptick in semiconductor industry inventories, particularly among top chip companies capitalizing on the AI trend. While China has witnessed a rise in listed semiconductor firms, it continues to face challenges, particularly in the memory business sector.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) recently reported a robust momentum with a year-on-year revenue growth of about 20% in the first quarter of 2024, but it may be difficult to sustain. Compared to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which recently lowered its global wafer fabrication revenue growth forecast for 2024 to between 14% and 19%, SMIC's Co-CEO Zhao Haijun also agreed, suggesting that 2024 might witness a "weak recovery" with insufficient growth momentum.
Canon's semiconductor equipment business, despite representing only 7.5% of its revenue in the fiscal year 2023 (January 2023 to December 2023), achieved a profit margin of 18.6%, surpassing other sectors such as copiers, medical devices, and cameras.
Due to the increasing competitiveness of end-use products, industries from semiconductors, electronic components to assembly plants, have faced challenges in improving yield rates and boosting production speeds.
Applied Materials revealed that its revenue from GAA process equipment is expected to increase significantly over the next 1-2 years, indicating that TSMC's 2nm GAA chips will likely enter mass production as scheduled. 2025 will also see head-to-head competition among major chipmakers at this most advanced technology.
Topco Scientific, a Taiwan-based semiconductor material distributor, has seen a significant increase in orders from Chinese foundries whose 12-inch fab utilization rates have risen above 90%.
Intel has stepped up orders with several equipment and material suppliers for its next-generation advanced packaging based on glass substrate technology, which is expected to go into volume production by 2030, according to industry sources.
An explosion from a chemical truck at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s construction site in Arizona killed the driver, according to statements from a local construction union and the Phoenix Police Department.
Amazon participated in the private placement for SIP Core provider Alchip, purchasing around a 0.3% share in Alchip for US$16 million. Regarding this move, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Tim Culpan wrote on LinkedIn that in the current era of the AI development boom, having independent chip R&D capabilities is a major advantage in differentiating one's competitiveness.
To maintain its leading position in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nvidia has mastered its CUDA software, constantly emphasized its affiliation with Taiwan and TSMC, and has even secured strong connections with the server supply chain in practice.
Amidst endeavors to cultivate a semiconductor ecosystem, India is purportedly contemplating creating an IP pool for semiconductor startups, mirroring the approach adopted by Taiwan in nurturing its semiconductor ecosystem.
Veolia Water Technologies, a subsidiary of Veolia and a leading specialist in water treatment technologies and services, announces on May 15 the inauguration of its first ion exchange regeneration facility in China. The facility features state-of-the-art technology to efficiently recycle spent ion exchange resins, promoting resource optimization and sustainability.
Taiwan-based companies engaged in fab engineering services and construction, including United Information Systems (UIS), Yankey Engineering, Acter, Marketech International, and Trusval Technology, have enjoyed brisk orders from TSMC and other chipmakers, according to industry sources.
The US announced 25% to 100% tariff hikes on China-made EVs, batteries, semiconductors and other goods. Although the move does not impact South Korean industries for now, companies must tackle a new round of supply chain disruptions as US-China trade disputes heat up.
While governments in the US, Europe, India, and Japan are eager to strengthen domestic semiconductor supply chains with subsidies, Taiwan sees its irreplaceable role in helping global teams actualize their innovation faster than building fabs from scratch.
As the AI and HPC markets develop, high-performance computing is rapidly growing, driving the demand for high-speed transmission. Naturally, the complexity of chip design has also increased significantly, and communication between chips is a key factor in processing speed.
Broadcom anticipates that AI chip revenue will contribute 35% to its semiconductor revenue in 2024, up sharply from 15% in 2023. The AI revenue for the year is estimated to soar past US$10 billion, more than double the 2023 level of US$4.3 billion.
