Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Wall Street Journal’s report that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) intends to build a “fab” (semiconductor fabrication facility or factory) in Arizona is big news, although it is really just a toe in the water. TSMC is the world’s largest contract integrated circuit (IC) manufacturer, and it is far and away the technology leader, offering the most advanced manufacturing processes on the planet. As such, it is a critical supplier for companies like Apple AAPL , Qualcomm QCOM , Nvidia NVDA , AMD, and even Intel INTC . TSMC has a remarkable history TSMC’s roots go back to the Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG) established by the Government of Taiwan in 1979. That group included Frederick Seitz, president of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. and a member of the President’s Science Advisory Committee, Bob Evans, a key figure in the development of IBM IBM ’s … [Read more...] about TSMC’s Announcement Of A New U.S. Semiconductor Fab Is Big News
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The Automotive Chip Crunch Reflects The Challenges Of Forecasting As Well As The Role Of China
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By now we have all seen the impact of the severe global shortage of semiconductor chips on the auto industry: GM is pausing production at several assembly plants, and Ford is cutting production of is F-150 pickup truck, its top-selling vehicle in the U.S. The increasing use of semiconductors in automobiles, in everything from engine controllers and electrification to infotainment systems has linked the industry to the broader chip ecosystem and its customers and suppliers. Understanding the interconnected of this supply crunch is instructive. There are three major contributors to the shortfall. The first was demand planning and the response to vehicle sales. China is the world’s largest automobile market, and 2019 was already not a particularly robust year, with sales dropping 8.2% from 2018. The Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers started 2020 projecting a 2% drop in vehicle sales, and that was before the … [Read more...] about The Automotive Chip Crunch Reflects The Challenges Of Forecasting As Well As The Role Of China
If Intel Builds A Fab In The U.S. It Should Focus On Developing Its Foundry Business Model
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel INTC is considering building a semiconductor foundry in the U.S. The move would be important in a post-pandemic world in which many companies will be more sensitive to the potential disruption of their supply chains. And of course the U.S. military is worried about American dependency on factories in Asia as tensions rise in that part of the world. U.S. firms like Apple AAPL , Qualcomm QCOM , and Nvidia NVDA turn to semiconductor “foundries” to manufacture their designs for them. Foundries specialize in producing chip designs for other companies (acting as a contract manufacturer), and they operate quite differently compared to firms like Intel who both designs and manufacturers chips in-house. Most large semiconductor companies turned to foundries in the 1990s and 2000s because the cost and focus required to set up and successfully operate a fab escalated out of … [Read more...] about If Intel Builds A Fab In The U.S. It Should Focus On Developing Its Foundry Business Model
Ola Electric’s sales down 42% MoM to 3,426 units in July
Representative Image Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric sold around 3,426 vehicles in July 2022, down 42 percent month-on-month on chip shortage and spill-over effects of inflationary pressures. The firm sold 5,874 two-wheelers in June, data from the industry body Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) showed on August 5. FADA’s report said high inflationary pressure was a cause of major concern. “The two-wheeler retail (both electric and non-electric) run witnessed poor demand as rural India continues to underperform. This coupled with high inflation, erratic monsoon and high cost of ownership continue to keep bottom of the pyramid customers at bay,” FADA’s report said. Hero Electric reported an increase in sales by 33 percent to 8,679 units, Okinawa Autotech 14.5 percent at 7,999, while Hero Motocorp-backed Ather Energy saw its sales tank 68.6 percent from June to 1,192 two-wheelers in July. Even as the Russia-Ukraine war continues, … [Read more...] about Ola Electric’s sales down 42% MoM to 3,426 units in July
Chinese chip IPO is bet on double self-sufficiency
- A + A HONG KONG (Aug 3): A Chinese chipmaker is becoming Beijing's poster child for technological self-sufficiency. Hygon Information Technology is readying a $1.6 billion float – the largest so far on Shanghai's STAR market this year. The company's controversial joint venture with U.S.-based AMD formed back in 2016 gave it a leg-up in microprocessors, and the deal’s huge valuation premium spotlights its ongoing hope for success as it strikes out on its own. Hygon may be little-known outside the People's Republic, but it is a rising star at home. The company in 2018 debuted a cutting-edge processor on par with Intel and AMD. Its partnership with the latter allowed Hygon to license advanced chip designs and sell its production to local hardware manufacturers including Lenovo. Escalating U.S.-China tensions have dealt a huge blow to the business, however. In 2019, Washington added both Hygon and its joint venture’s units onto the Entity List restricting them from U.S. … [Read more...] about Chinese chip IPO is bet on double self-sufficiency
Semiconductor industry bears the brunt of renewed trade tensions
- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): Geopolitical tension between China and the US is escalating after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. This is expected to trigger another round of trade sanctions between the two nations, which are likely to worsen current supply chain disruptions, in addition to renewed trade tensions, said fund managers and equity strategists. The semiconductor-related industry appears to be one that will bear the brunt of the rising geopolitical tension in Asia, as it chokes the global semiconductor supply chain. When contacted, Areca Capital Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Danny Wong said should tensions over Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan escalate, this may further disrupt the fragile global chip supply chain. He is referring to the impact of the shipment and orders of the chip supply from Taiwan to the world. Notably, Taiwan is a dominant force when it comes to the world’s semiconductor supply, thanks to Taiwan … [Read more...] about Semiconductor industry bears the brunt of renewed trade tensions
Intel’s Arc A370M Is Great For Creators On-The-Go
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Intel recently released the first members of its new Arc family of GPUs, the A350M and A370M. Representing the mobile faction of the Arc lineup, these two GPUs will mostly be found in laptops. Intel has already scored design wins with ASUS, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and others, which is not surprising given the strength of Intel’s laptop platform. Intel is positioning the A370M as a GPU for creator workloads with some light gaming. In other words, it should be particularly great for accelerating media workloads but still do fine in light gaming scenarios and casual titles. The A370M also leverages Intel’s Xe HPG microarchitecture and was manufactured with TSMC’s N6 node. For the last month I’ve had the opportunity to use this new GPU in a pre-production Intel Arc 3 development notebook, which Intel sent me to review in my capacity as an industry analyst. The system itself has nice specs, with an i7-12700H CPU and 32GB of RAM and … [Read more...] about Intel’s Arc A370M Is Great For Creators On-The-Go
‘Chip 4’ is an offer Korea can’t refuse, Ahn says after Pelosi visit
U.S. Speakers Nancy Pelosi during a meeting with Korean Speaker Kim Jin-pyo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS] U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Asia tour upped the pressure on Korea to join "Chip 4." She met with TSMC Chairman Mark Liu while in Taipei but did not visit Korean chipmakers. It has been reported that the Joe Biden administration has proposed a semiconductor supply alliance to Korea, Taiwan and Japan in March with an August deadline for making a commitment. "Speaker Pelosi's visit indicates that the time for Korea to choose has neared," said People Power Party legislator Ahn Cheol-soo in a Facebook post titled "Joining Chip 4 is an offer one can't refuse" — alluding to "The Godfather" — on Thursday. Ahn, who is a doctor, start-up CEO and a former presidential candidate, stressed that the sole purpose of Pelosi's trip is the last three stops — Taiwan, No. 1 in foundry, Korea, No. 1 in memory chips, and Japan, No.1 semiconductor equipment. … [Read more...] about ‘Chip 4’ is an offer Korea can’t refuse, Ahn says after Pelosi visit
5 Largest Companies in Taiwan
The economy of Taiwan is a highly-diversified advanced economy with a strong manufacturing base. Several prominent companies based in Taiwan are global innovators in their respective industries, from semiconductor manufacturing to telecommunications. Below are five of the largest companies in Taiwan ranked by 12-month trailing revenue . Also listed are three additional companies that rank among the largest companies in Taiwan by revenue and market capitalization , but were excluded from the list due to their limited trading presence in U.S. markets. All figures are as of market close on August 2, 2022, with data provided by YCharts, unless otherwise indicated. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ( TSM ) Revenue (TTM): $61.48 billion (TTM) Net Income (TTM): $23.73 billion (TTM) Market Cap: $446.24 billion 1-Year Total Returns (Daily): -25.0% Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the world’s most … [Read more...] about 5 Largest Companies in Taiwan
Congress Is Giving Billions To The U.S. Semiconductor Industry. Will It Ease Chip Shortages?
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign, allocates $280 billion for a packed list of projects and priorities, including $52 billion in subsidies for domestic production of semiconductors. It's intended to "seize the future of decades to come," the president said , and "bring the semiconductor supply chain from China to Michigan," according to that state's governor, Gretchen Whitmer . But will it resolve the chip shortages now plaguing the auto industry and others, and will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still need to visit Taiwan's big chipmaker in the future to ask for help? As you can imagine, the answer is complicated, so let me break it down into some digestible chunks The CHIPs bill aims to regain domestic manufacturing leadership lost to Asia The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. Plus, federal … [Read more...] about Congress Is Giving Billions To The U.S. Semiconductor Industry. Will It Ease Chip Shortages?