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Monday 10 March 2025
Beyond TSMC: Do chip veterans bring transformation or just prestige?
Memory giant Micron recently announced that former TSMC Chairman Mark Liu has joined its board. Micron views this move as a strategic effort to boost its competitive position against SK Hynix and to foster closer collaboration with TSMC
Monday 10 March 2025
Asian Perspectives 4: from ChatGPT's AI disruption to DeepSeek's shockwaves
Nvidia's meteoric rise in AI hardware following ChatGPT's debut has been nothing short of remarkable. But as history has shown, no industry leader stays unchallenged forever. As Intel's legendary CEO Andy Grove once put it, "Only the paranoid survive"—because in tech, market leaders are only safe until someone comes along to disrupt them
Monday 10 March 2025
Intel's struggles: TSMC's dominance, Trump's strategy, and the outlook of 'Made in America'
The founder of TSMC, Morris Chang, and former Intel CEO Craig Barrett, both seasoned veterans in the semiconductor industry, have weighed in on Intel's foundry business. Chang, in his straightforward style, asserted that Intel has yet to master the foundry business, while Barrett, writing recently in Fortune magazine, acknowledged that although Intel still faces challenges in chip design, particularly with the shift toward AI applications, the company is unmistakably regaining ground in manufacturing technology. According to Barrett, Intel's revival is already well underway
Saturday 8 March 2025
Trump tariffs lead notebooks brands to stock up inventory in 4Q24, resulting in shipment drop in 1Q25, says DIGITIMES
In the fourth quarter of 2024, global notebook shipments (excluding detachable models) performed better than expected, decreasing by 1% compared to the previous quarter. In anticipation of tariffs on notebooks imported into the US by the Trump administration, brands and channel retailers increased their inventories in the fourth quarter to prepare. However, the high inventory from the fourth quarter will strongly undermine brand vendors' shipments in the first quarter of 2025, according to DIGITIMES' latest quarterly notebook shipments report
Friday 7 March 2025
Between Washington and Taipei, TSMC aims to avert being strapped with Intel rescue
TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei recently held a press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House, announcing an additional investment of US$100 billion in the US. Shortly after, he convened another press conference with Taiwan's President Ching-te Lai to clarify TSMC's intentions regarding its investments in the US
Friday 7 March 2025
Trump 2.0 unleashes tariff tactics: bold moves, hidden agendas, and the new world order
As US President Donald Trump marks the first month of his second term in office, the reforms and fiscal austerity measures of Trump 2.0 have exceeded expectations compared to his campaign promises. Whether it is the various cuts proposed by the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) led by Elon Musk or the recently passed tax reduction and spending cut bill that narrowly cleared the House of Representatives, the pace of these initiatives is astonishing, and their impact is profound
Friday 7 March 2025
Asian Perspectives 3: Digital twins and smart vehicles
The concept of digital twins initially emerged in consumer applications for AR/VR/MR, but its future lies in smart manufacturing. Like quantum computing, this is not a technology that will take 20 years to materialize, but a tangible reality within the next decade. Hardware evolution may progress even faster than expected, but the real challenge lies in educating users and making these new technologies mainstream applications
Thursday 6 March 2025
Behind the Scenes: How Mark Liu and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra Are Forging a New Era in US Chip Strategy
Following his retirement as chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Mark Liu shifted his focus to the United States. The latest announcement by Micron Technology regarding Liu's appointment to its board has sent shockwaves through the industry
Thursday 6 March 2025
Asian Perspectives 2: From Shoreline to Skyline
How big is Singapore? Around 700 square kilometers—roughly the size of Pudong north of Century Avenue in Shanghai. After dark, dinner was served on the first floor of the Capella Hotel, with six tables arranged for about 60 guests, including our hosts from Bank of America (BoA)
Wednesday 5 March 2025
TSMC's massive US expansion tests Trump's labor strategy, says DIGITIMES analyst
With geopolitical pressures intensifying rapidly after Trump's inauguration as President of the US, TSMC announced on March 4, 2025, that it would invest an additional US$100 billion in the US. However, this new investment plan still tests the Trump administration's ability to address issues related to factory construction and talent shortages
Wednesday 5 March 2025
Indian mobile market has growth potential in 2025, but ARPU remains challenge, says DIGITIMES
India, the world's most populous country with a population of over 1.4 billion, has enormous growth potential in the network communications market. In the past, India lagged behind others in 3G and 4G development due to a number of factors, such as a market over-crowded with competitors, weak telecommunications infrastructure, and poor policy implementation. However, the arrival of the 5G era has gradually changed the landscape of India's telecommunications market, according to DIGITIMES's latest report covering India's 5G market
Wednesday 5 March 2025
Stanford's David Fedor praises TSMC and C.C. Wei's Oval Office meeting as a strategic win for Taiwan
TSMC unveiled plans to nearly triple its investment in the United States to US$165 billion, a move that reshapes the global chip industry landscape amid surging artificial intelligence demand and intensifying US-China technological competition
Wednesday 5 March 2025
Asian perspectives 1: Breakthrough technologies shaping today's world
At the end of February, I attended an exclusive "Breakthrough Technology Dialogue" in Singapore—a gathering of global tech elites. My aim was to capture the essence of the insights shared while blending in my own observations, offering a glimpse into the collective mindset driving Asia's embrace of transformative technologies
Tuesday 4 March 2025
Two major challenges for TSMC's US$100 billion US investment and 6 other takeaways
In a historic White House press conference, President Donald Trump joined TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei to announce a monumental US$100 billion investment by TSMC in the United States. The event, attended by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and White House AI and Semiconductor Advisor David Sacks, underscored America's aggressive push to reassert dominance in the global semiconductor industry. Beyond the staggering financial commitment, the conference revealed the strategic motivations, economic implications, and key personalities shaping this transformative deal
Tuesday 4 March 2025
Chinese smartphone market shipments soar in 4Q24 before slip in 1Q25, says DIGITIMES
Smartphone shipments in the Chinese market reached slightly less than 79 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, representing a 14.9% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 0.6% growth year-over-year. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2025, it is estimated that shipment volumes will experience a single-digit decline, according to DIGITIMES' latest report covering the Chinese smartphone market