ASML Holding NV and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have ways to disable the world's most sophisticated chipmaking machines in the event that China invades Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Many in the South Korean industry believe that with TSMC, the leading semiconductor foundry, facing increasing risks from earthquakes in Taiwan and unstable cross-strait relations, Samsung hopes to seize new opportunities by establishing a 3nm supply chain for Nvidia. In this context, it is reported that Samsung Electronics' primary task in 2024 in its semiconductor foundry business will be securing orders for Nvidia's advanced chips.
As major countries, particularly the United States, escalate their substantial subsidies for domestic semiconductor production, South Korea's industry is increasingly concerned about its lagging policies and lack of local manufacturing incentives. Reports suggest that the South Korean presidential office is crafting a subsidy plan aimed at fostering and attracting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from both home and abroad.
Samsung Electronics has appointed company vice chairman Young Hyun Jun as the new leader of its Device Solutions (DS) division. Jun will be responsible for overseeing the company's semiconductor business and enhancing its competitive position in the face of an unpredictable global business climate.
For the past 36 years, TechInsights (formerly VSLI) has formally evaluated semiconductor equipment companies based on customer feedback to recognize the best in the industry. TechInsights released its Customer Satisfaction Survey results for 2024 on May 17, with Adventest, EV Group, ASML, Technoprobe, and Edwards taking the top space of individual categories.
Renesas Electronics highlighted the importance of the Indian market, aiming to boost its revenue share from India from the current 5% to between 10% and 15% by 2030. The company also stated that its future acquisition deals will be US$1-2 billion, with no immediate plans for larger multi-billion-dollar acquisitions.
Indian SaaS company Zoho is reportedly planning to invest US$700 million in semiconductor manufacturing. If true, this could mark another case of an Indian company entering the semiconductor sector. In terms of funding, this investment should be in the IC backend domain.
Market sources have identified Naura Technology as the principal beneficiary of China's initiative to achieve self-sufficiency in chipmaking equipment. Revenue for the Chinese fab toolmaker increased by 50.7% in 2023.
There have been reports that Samsung Electronics' 3nm manufacturing process is ready and will be used on its newest Exynos flagship processor platform, which is expected to be released in the second half of this year.
EDA giant Synopsys has completed the tape-out of a high-performance mobile SoC design using Samsung Electronics' 3nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) wafer foundry process. This chip is set to be used in Samsung's Galaxy smartphones in 2025.
TSMC has started producing Tesla's next-generation Dojo AI training tiles with its InFO_SoW (Integrated Fan-Out System-on-Wafer) technology, aiming for a 40x increase in computing power by 2027 with a more complex wafer-level system, according to company sources.
The installed capacity of wafer fabrication will exceed 40 million wafers per quarter (in 300mm wafer equivalent), increasing by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2024 and an anticipated 1.4% rise in the second quarter, according to recent research conducted by SEMI in collaboration with TechInsights. China has the fastest capacity growth rate compared to all other areas.
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.
