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Friday 22 August 2025

Jensen Huang's whirlwind Taiwan visit: 5 key priorities with TSMC before earnings call

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a surprise visit to Taiwan on August 22, spending just 12 hours in the country. He said the trip was to meet TSMC executives and review six chips already in tape-out at the foundry, including those built on the 3nm Rubin microarchitecture.

Friday 22 August 2025

Hyundai reportedly deepens push into automotive semiconductors with Samsung, Intel ties

As part of its broader effort to strengthen competitiveness in the next generation of vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its transformation toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs)—a shift that includes not only the development of in-car software platforms but also a strategic move toward in-house automotive semiconductor development.

Friday 22 August 2025

TSMC's gross margin nears 60% as equipment allies shine

TSMC's strong second-quarter results demonstrated resilience amid global challenges, posting a 58.6% gross margin and NT$759.83 billion (US$24.93 billion) revenue in the first half of the year. Its advanced processes helped suppliers like AblePrint, Chroma, and Allring achieve solid profits, indicating ongoing growth across Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain.

Friday 22 August 2025

Google switches to TSMC for Tensor G5 as Pixel 10 series launches

Google has officially launched its latest lineup of Pixel devices, all powered by the next-generation Tensor G5 chip, built using TSMC's cutting-edge 3nm process. In a rare move, Google's US headquarters publicly acknowledged its partnership with the Taiwanese chipmaker, underscoring the growing strategic importance of Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain.

Friday 22 August 2025

Nvidia reportedly orders halts H20 chip production amid China market backlash

Nvidia's H20 AI chip, once expected to anchor its sales in China, now faces an uncertain future as reports surface of halted production orders amid Beijing's push for local alternatives. The back-and-forth US export bans and policy shifts have left the chip's fate entangled in geopolitics and nationalism.

Friday 22 August 2025

Equity-for-subsidies: Samsung and Seoul fear US govt overreach

The Trump administration is exploring acquiring equity stakes in major semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics, following its interest in Intel Corporation. This move, revealed by Reuters, signals a significant shift in US strategy—potentially resembling China's state-led model for semiconductor development.

Friday 22 August 2025

Nvidia CEO's third Taiwan trip in 2025: talk H20, US govt stake and visits TSMC

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made an unannounced visit to TSMC on August 22, arriving at Taipei airport early in the morning by private jet. Huang stated that the purpose of this trip to Taiwan was to meet with TSMC to further discuss production plans for the upcoming Rubin GPU chip entering trial production.

Friday 22 August 2025

Samsung boosts 2nm chip competitiveness with Hyper Cell tech

Samsung Electronics' foundry business plans to leverage its Hyper Cell technology to maintain its competitiveness in the 2nm semiconductor process. By adopting a more flexible chip design, the company aims to enhance both performance and power efficiency, with the goal of significantly expanding its presence in the high-performance computing (HPC) market.

Friday 22 August 2025

China signals soft resistance to US-approved Nvidia H20 shipments

On August 11, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia's H20 chips were approved for shipment to China. Before this, at the end of July 2025, reports indicated that Nvidia had placed an order with TSMC for 300,000 H20 chips as inventory to meet strong demand from China.

Friday 22 August 2025

Xiaomi readies next-gen XRing O2 chip as it pushes toward 2nm and beyond

Xiaomi is accelerating its in-house semiconductor development. After unveiling its first 3nm flagship SoC, the XRing O1, in 2025, industry sources say the company is now developing its successor, the XRing O2, slated for release as early as the second quarter or third quarter of 2026.

Thursday 21 August 2025

MediaTek automotive platform integrates Google ecosystem, leveraging diverse technologies

MediaTek recently announced that it has become the first partner to provide Google's Project Treble support specifically for the automotive ecosystem. The company will offer customers at least four years of firmware upgrades and software maintenance to enhance customer support, reduce the total cost of ownership, protect user data, and extend the lifecycle of automotive products.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Research Insight: UCIe 1.1 upgrade aims at auto industry, boosts chiplet adoption

As automotive computing platforms increasingly demand higher performance, longer lifespans, and near-zero defect rates, chip architecture faces the challenge of balancing system reliability with cost efficiency under stringent automotive standards. Chiplets are emerging as a pivotal pathway to meet these requirements.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Chinese AI startup Butterfly Effect moves HQ to Singapore as its AI agent Manus surges to US$90M run rate

China's AI startup Butterfly Effect has revealed financial results for the first time, projecting an annualized revenue run rate of US$90 million, largely fueled by its flagship AI agent service Manus.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Nvidia's impossible dilemma: trust on a string between Washington and Beijing

Nvidia's H20 chips have unexpectedly emerged as a new flashpoint in the intensifying tech rivalry between the United States and China. Reports that Washington installs trackers on servers using Nvidia chips from Dell and Super Micro during shipment have fueled Beijing's suspicions, deepening its long-standing distrust of American chip security.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Sunplus sees uneven recovery: auto orders rebound, consumer chips under strain

Sunplus Group warned that the consumer electronics slump and rising competition from Chinese chipmakers will cloud its outlook for the second half of 2025. The Taiwan-based IC design company, parent of Generalplus and Sunplus Innovation Technology, expects automotive chip orders and AI-driven products to support growth but cautioned that tariffs and broader macroeconomic risks could still limit momentum.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Pixel 10 powered by Tensor G5 on TSMC 3nm with 34% CPU gain and 60% faster AI

Alphabet Inc. has introduced its latest Pixel 10 series smartphones featuring the newly developed Tensor G5 processor, marking the company's most significant upgrade in custom chip design. The Tensor G5 is the first Pixel chip manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s 3nm technology, delivering enhanced performance and energy efficiency.

Thursday 21 August 2025

South Korea denies US plans to acquire Samsung shares amid CHIPS Act speculation

The South Korean presidential office has dismissed reports that the US government intends to purchase shares of Samsung Electronics Co., stating there is no factual basis for such claims. The clarification follows widespread speculation fueled by recent comments from US officials.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Cirrus Logic expands partnership with GlobalFoundries to advance chip technologies

GlobalFoundries and Cirrus Logic have announced an expanded collaboration to accelerate the development of advanced semiconductor technologies aimed at powering future consumer and industrial devices. The companies said the joint efforts will focus on enhancing efficiency, reliability, and performance in applications ranging from smartphones to automobiles.

Thursday 21 August 2025

Intel reportedly seeks fresh equity infusion as it pushes turnaround in 2025

Intel is reportedly in talks with additional large investors to secure an equity infusion at a discounted price, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, as the US chipmaker pursues fresh funding beyond a recently announced investment from Japan's SoftBank Group. The effort underscores Intel's need for external capital to sustain its costly turnaround and semiconductor manufacturing ambitions.

Wednesday 20 August 2025

Arm strengthens cloud ASIC ambitions with hire of former AWS executive and top engineers

Arm has brought on Rami Sinno, the former Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive who helped lead development of the Trainium and Inferentia processors, along with senior engineers from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Qualcomm. The hires underscore Arm's push to expand beyond processor blueprints into cloud chip and system-level design.

Wednesday 20 August 2025

Apple leak reveals ultra-low-cost MacBook as A- and M-series chip lines blur

Apple's latest beta software has exposed code detailing upcoming processors across its product lineup, confirming some rumors while contradicting earlier reports from outlets including MacRumors. The leak also validated a DIGITIMES scoop from August 11: Apple is developing an entry-level MacBook that will use the same A18 Pro chip as the iPhone 16 series.

Wednesday 20 August 2025

TSMC holds the high ground on 2nm, but Samsung moves fast to close the gap

The battle for dominance in 2-nanometer (nm) chip manufacturing has officially begun. While Samsung Electronics is gaining ground by offering lower prices and faster response times, its Taiwanese rival, TSMC, is doubling down on a high-price, no-discount strategy—setting the stage for a pivotal clash in next-generation semiconductor production.

Wednesday 20 August 2025

Vietnam urges Qualcomm to deepen investments as the country nurtures IC design capabilities

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on US semiconductor giant Qualcomm to expand its investments in the country, particularly in core technology areas within the semiconductor value chain. The appeal was made during a meeting with Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon in Hanoi on August 12, 2025, according to The Investor.

Tuesday 19 August 2025

Last-minute rush orders shake up Taiwan's chip industry

Taiwan's chip design firms say second-quarter results point to a clear trend, with inventories climbing in value even as turnover days hold steady. Executives say the increase is not due to weaker demand but rather to clients placing frequent rush orders, forcing companies to hold more stock as a buffer.

Tuesday 19 August 2025

Arm reportedly hires Amazon AI exec to advance chip ambition

Chip designer Arm has hired Amazon's artificial intelligence chip director Rami Sinno as it pushes into developing its processors, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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