UCLA scientists may have just cracked the code for the next big leap in smartphone technology. In a discovery that could reshape how chips are made, researchers have figured out a way to build semiconductors that use electron spin—not just charge—to run faster and cooler. The result? Future phones and laptops could be thinner, run cooler, and last longer on a single charge.

This breakthrough focuses on “spintronics,” a next-gen approach to electronics that taps into the natural magnetic properties of electrons. Traditional chips rely on electric current, which creates heat and wastes energy. But spintronics flips the script by using the direction of electron spin to process information with far less energy loss.

Until now, one of the biggest challenges was how to make semiconductors that were magnetic enough to be useful. UCLA’s research team solved that by stacking atom-thin layers of semiconductors with magnetic atoms, boosting magnetic concentration to an unprecedented 50%—ten times higher than what was possible before. According to the university, this method has already produced over 20 new materials and is currently being patented.

Beyond powering consumer electronics more efficiently, this breakthrough could also help reduce the massive energy and water consumption of AI data centers, which are increasingly criticized for their environmental impact.

With better magnetic semiconductors, quantum computers may no longer need extreme cold to operate—bringing them one step closer to real-world use. And because the chips themselves could be made smaller, laptops and devices could shrink in size while gaining even more power under the hood.

It’ll be a few years before we see this tech inside consumer gadgets, but the promise is clear: smaller, greener, and far more capable devices—all thanks to a clever twist on how electrons behave.

To learn more about the research, head to UCLA Newsroom.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the titan of the global chip industry, is poised for a significant transition with its chairman, Mark Liu, announcing his retirement next year. Stepping into Liu’s shoes will be the current CEO, C.C. Wei, a move that symbolizes continuity and stability for this tech giant.

C.C. Wei will replace Mark Liu as the CEO of the company

Liu’s journey with TSMC has been remarkable. Joining the company in 1993, he witnessed its rise to become the world’s largest contract chipmaker. As he prepares to bid adieu, focusing on his family and new endeavors, there’s an air of confidence that TSMC’s legacy is in safe hands.

C.C. Wei, a Yale alumnus with a doctorate in electrical engineering, isn’t new to the game. With his board membership since 2017 and a long tenure at TSMC starting in 1998, Wei represents both experience and innovation. His leadership will be crucial as TSMC navigates a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

TSMC’s role is central in the tech world. It’s not just a major supplier for behemoths like Apple and Nvidia; its influence extends across the globe. The company’s stock has seen impressive growth, reflecting its critical role in the burgeoning sectors of AI, high-performance computing, and 5G technology.

The company’s future plans are as ambitious as its past achievements. With most of its manufacturing rooted in Taiwan, TSMC is branching out. New facilities in Germany, Japan, and Arizona signify a strategic move to diversify its manufacturing base. This is not just about meeting global demand; it’s a smart play in a world where supply chain risks are more apparent than ever.

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In a remarkable move, China has significantly ramped up its imports of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, a direct consequence of the United States tightening its tech export controls. October saw a near 80% surge in the value of these imports compared to the same time last year. This increase isn’t just a number; it’s a telling sign of China’s strategic maneuvering in the global tech landscape.

Chinese companies are stockpiling chip-making tools to prepare for new regulations

Semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, a key player in the production of everything from silicon wafers to integrated circuits (ICs), saw a leap from US$2.4 billion to US$4.3 billion in just one year. This jump points to a broader strategy by Chinese companies: they’re stockpiling chip-making tools in anticipation of the U.S.’s new trade controls.

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s latest restrictions aim to curb China’s access to advanced chip-making equipment. This includes lithography equipment for semiconductors on a 45-nanometre node and more mature processes. The move is an extension of earlier efforts to hinder China’s development in artificial intelligence chips and other advanced ICs.

Despite these restrictions, China’s semiconductor imports are showing signs of recovery. After a 26.5% decline in early 2023, there’s been a gradual improvement. The total value of chip imports from January to November, although lower than last year, shows a slow but steady comeback, especially in the consumer electronics sector.

The story here is not just about numbers and policies. It’s about resilience and adaptation. Faced with stringent export controls, China is not just playing defense; it’s strategically bolstering its capabilities. This development is more than an economic maneuver; it’s a testament to the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the global tech race.

China’s response to the U.S. export controls is not merely about survival; it’s about asserting its role in the global technology narrative. This surge in semiconductor-manufacturing equipment imports may well be a stepping stone for China in its quest to become a self-reliant tech powerhouse.

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China is strategically channeling investments into high-tech manufacturing, focusing on sectors ranging from semiconductors to electric vehicles. This initiative, part of a broader agenda to upgrade the country’s manufacturing capabilities, demonstrates China’s commitment to technological advancement and innovation. At the same time, in the dynamic world of consumer electronics, Vivo, a leading tech company, is gearing up to unveil its flagship X100 series smartphones, highlighting China‘s growing influence in the tech sector. The phone is already breaking pre-order records across China.

At the same time, Vivo is planning to unveil its highly awaited X100 series

The Chinese government’s decision to invest in high-tech manufacturing sectors is a clear indication of its ambition to transition from being the world’s factory of basic goods to a hub for advanced technology products. This shift towards producing high-end electronics, semiconductors, and electric vehicles is a strategic move aimed at propelling the country to the forefront of the global technology race. It also reflects China’s efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency, especially in the wake of global supply chain challenges and geopolitical tensions.

However, this surge in high-tech manufacturing has raised concerns about the potential impact on global markets. The influx of affordable, high-tech products from China could reshape market dynamics and intensify competition, particularly in sectors like EVs where China is rapidly expanding its footprint. This development poses both opportunities and challenges for global tech companies and economies, prompting them to rethink their strategies in the face of China’s technological ascent.

Simultaneously, Vivo’s announcement of its X100 series smartphones adds another layer to China’s technological advancements. The series, including the Vivo X100, X100 Pro, and X100 Pro+, is expected to feature MediaTek’s upcoming Dimensity 9300 chipset, signifying a significant step forward in smartphone technology. The launch of these models is not just a milestone for Vivo but also a testament to China’s growing capabilities in cutting-edge consumer electronics.

These developments in China’s tech sector, from high-tech manufacturing to innovative consumer products, underscore the country’s ambition to lead in technological innovation. They reflect a strategic shift in China’s approach to technology development, focusing on creating a robust ecosystem that supports the entire value chain from production to innovation. As China continues to advance its technological prowess, it is poised to play an increasingly influential role in shaping the future of global technology.

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The semiconductor industry is facing a significant shift in its supply and demand dynamics, creating a crisis that has persisted since the second quarter of 2022. The market is grappling with full inventory, declining prices, and sluggish demand. However, amidst this challenging situation, there is a glimmer of hope for the industry, thanks to the rapid growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

GPUs are playing a massive role in helping the advancement of AI Technologies

According to a report by IT Home on July 3, the demand for chips in the AI field is on the rise. Companies like Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD have recognized this trend and are actively investing in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Furthermore, the demand for 3nm chips from Apple‘s iPhone and Mac is expected to contribute significantly to TSMC’s revenue recovery in the latter half of the year.

Driven by the escalating demand in the AI sector, these three major companies have been steadily increasing their orders of TSMC’s 5/7nm chips quarter after quarter since the second quarter. Moreover, they are fiercely competing for TSMC’s CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) production capacity, resulting in a more than 20% increase.

Industry insiders have acknowledged that the primary growth driver for these major manufacturers lies in the surge of AI demand. Notably, Nvidia anticipates a staggering 50% increase in revenue for the latest quarter (May to July), reaching an impressive $11 billion. This growth is primarily propelled by the surge in shipments of AI graphics processing units (GPUs). (For reference, $11 billion is approximately equivalent to 79.86 billion yuan.)

As companies continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies and tap into the potential of AI, the future of the semiconductor industry appears to be intertwined with the advancements and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, which is somehow not surprising at all.

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Needs continue to shape modern technology trends. For instance, with the rise in demand for semiconductors in electric vehicles, high-end servers in data centers, and artificial intelligence applications, we see vast opportunities for RISC-V processors. In today’s world, where everything is becoming increasingly expensive, this techbology draws attention as a royalty-free architecture that can save chip designers money. Here are the details…

The future of China: What is RISC-V?

When it comes to semiconductor production, several complex and challenging processes emerge. As a result, few companies participate in the manufacturing process, and even fewer get involved in development. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and increasing demand, the capacity of the few existing manufacturers is being exceeded. This is where RISC-V steps in China. RISC-V is a royalty-free, open-source instruction set architecture.

There are several reasons for China’s adoption of RISC-V. First, it is a cost-effective option for chip designers. Second, being open-source, and offers greater flexibility and customization capabilities than proprietary architectures. Finally, RISC-V is a relatively new architecture that is continually evolving and can be adapted to cater to the needs of future applications.

RISC-V is an open-source instruction set architecture that is royalty-free. It is based on reduced instruction set computer (RISC) principles, which means that it is designed to be simple and efficient. RISC-V was developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and its specifications were made available to developers in 2015.

RISC-V is gaining popularity in the global semiconductor industry, and China is a major driver of this growth. In 2022, eleven new RISC-V chips were launched by a dozen Chinese semiconductor companies. These chips are used in a variety of applications, including cars, computers, wireless communications, energy management, and security.

There are several reasons why China is adopting this techbology. First, the architecture is royalty-free, which can save chip designers money. Second, RISC-V is open-source, which means that it is more flexible and customizable than proprietary architectures. Third, RISC-V is a relatively new architecture, which means that it is still evolving and can be adapted to meet the needs of future applications.

The adoption of RISC-V in China is a major development in the global semiconductor industry. It is a sign that China is becoming a major player in the design and manufacture of chips. This techbology has the potential to disrupt the traditional semiconductor market, and China is well-positioned to be a leader in its development.

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Taiwan has just imposed a ban of all export of modern chips to Russia and Belarus. The government made the decision due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian forces.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has shared a list of all high tech goods that will be banned from export to Russia and Belarus earlier this week (Via DigiTimes). The ministry also announced that these new high tech products will also be barred from Belarus since it might help Russia in bypassing these sanctions. So now, companies from these two regions will no longer be able to purchase certain semiconductors products like microprocessors or even microcircuits.

This includes the kind that feature a performance speed of 5 gigaflops or above, have a frequency rate that is higher than 25MHz, an external interconnection with a data transfer rate of 2.5 MB/s or greater, more than 144 pins, or a basic propagation delay time of lower than 0.4 nanoseconds. In simpler terms, Russia and Belarus are basically no longer able to source modern technology that were manufactured in Taiwan.

Apart from modern chipsets, Taiwan will also not sell chip production related equipment to these nations as well. In other words, they can’t source equipment to produce their own chips as well. This includes alignment and exposure equipment for wafer production, scanners, and even scanning electron microscopes.

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Nexperia, the Dutch semiconductor based company that is a subsidiary of China based firm Wingtech Technology, is apparently planning on buying Newport Wafer Fab, which is the largest chip maker in the US.

According to a SCMP report, Nexperia is planning on acquiring the UK chip maker for a 63 million Pounds (roughly 87 US Dollars). The report arrives from anonymous sources close to the matter last week. The news of the deal arrives amid Beijing’s push for technological self reliance. This move has led to the Chinese government pouring resources into the development of local semiconductor industry. The effort is primarily driven by US sanctions that have disrupted the supply chains of Chinese companies.

At the moment, experts in the UK have expressed their concerns regarding security about the Nexperia-Newport deal. A Nexperia spokesperson said the company is still in talks with the Newport Wafer Fab and the Welsh government but has declined to further comment on the matter. Notably, Wingtech had purchased stakes worth 4.14 billion US Dollars into Nexperia, acquiring 80 percent stake in the Dutch firm. This share has now increased to 98.2 percent last year, with the Chinese firm buying out stakes in Nexperia to expand into semiconductor technology.

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The global semiconductor material market was worth 55.3 billion US Dollars last year and is expected to grow by about 6 percent this year, reaching 58.7 billion US Dollars. Now, a new SEMI report has found that South Korea alone would account for 10.5 billion US Dollars by the year 2022.

According to TheElec report, the materials market has been seeing a steady growth every year, especially in South Korea, which accounted for 9.23 billion US Dollars back in 2020. majority of the overall growth of the semiconductor materials market is from Taiwan, China, and South Korea. While the country was third in market size after Taiwan and China, it is still a major region considering the high investments being made by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Both firms spend large sums on semiconductor materials, which is apparently the largest expenditure across the globe. Furthermore, SEMI is also gearing up to host SMC Korea 2021 from May 12 to May 18 in South Korea. The event will be fully online and will be streamed live and on demand sessions that will cover topics from extreme ultraviolet (EUV), packaging to foundry. This event will also include a lot of companies in the semiconductor industry will attend this event.

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Xiaomi has been ramping up its investment into chips amid increasing US pressures. This is a part of China’s efforts to lower dependency on foreign technology after the US had targeted Huawei Technologies.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, the Chinese tech giant raised its stakes by a large amount in at least 34 China based chip related firms from 2019 till now. Furthermore, the company also added stakes in about 25 other tech hardware based firms that were not related to semiconductors as well. At the moment, the smartphone manufacturer is targeting chip develops, chip equipment makers, startups, and even advanced displays, camera lenses and automation and, precision equipment.

Notably, these investments made by Xiaomi are in line with China’s road map for building a more competitive tech manufacturing supply chain. In other words, reducing its reliance on foreign advanced technology and strengthening its own tech industry. The company is currently a rapidly growing firm from China, with its global smartphone market share rivaling other giants like Apple. Huawei had been the target of various US trade restrictions and even Xiaomi has been facing similar accusations of alleged ties to Chinese military.

Xiaomi Founder, Lei Jun stated that “It has been seven years since Xiaomi invested in chips. … [The C1] is only a small step in Xiaomi’s chip progress, but it marks a milestone for our image processing capability. The road to [Xiaomi’s chip ambition] is long and full of challenges, but we have the patience and perseverance to make it.” Other Chinese companies have also been making similar efforts in boosting chip development since last year, when the US cut off Huawei’s access to its primary chip supplier, TSMC.

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India is apparently planning on offering more than 1 billion US Dollars to each semiconductor based firm that sets up its manufacturing facility within the country. The news arrives as the government seeks to strengthen its electronics supply chain and build on its existing smartphone assembly industry.

According to a Reuters report, two officials close to the matter the move from the local government is a part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. This drive has led to the region becoming the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer after China. Now, the government believes that the country needs to also seek a similar strategy to bring manufacturing sites from chip-making based firms.

As per a senior government official, “The government will give cash incentives of more than $1 billion to each company which will set up chip fabrication units. We’re assuring them that the government will be a buyer and there will also be mandates in the private market (for companies to buy locally made chips).” Although, it has yet to be decided how these cash incentives will be given out and the government has asked the industry for feedback as well, as per the second source from the government.

At the moment, governments across the globe have been subsidizing the semiconductor industry and the construction of chips making plants. This is especially important during this time when the world is facing a global shortage of semiconductors. The shortage also highlights that the reliance of various nations on Taiwanese suppliers. Notably, the official also added that the chips made locally will be designed as “trusted sources,” which will be used in various equipment ranging from security to networking.

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The expenditure on fab equipment has increased by 16 percent year on year in 2020, as per a new report. This is also expected to carry forward in this year, with spending expected to rise by 15.5 percent in 2021.

According to TheElec report, the rise of 15.5 percent in this year will have the expenditure reach over 70 billion US Dollars. Furthermore, the percentage of rise is expected to fall to 12 percent in 2022, reaching a total value to just over 80 billion US Dollars. Between the three year period between 2016 and 2018, fab equipment spending saw a notable increase due to a ‘super cycle’ in the semiconductor industry, which marked the first time spending for three straight years since the mid 1990s.

Additionally, the focus of the expenditure will be on foundry and memory. The spending in foundry equipment is also expected to increase by 23 percent this year as well, reaching 32 billion US Dollars. Although, these expenditures are expected to remain flat in 2022. Talking about memory, spending is expected to reach 28 billion US Dollars in 2021, which would be mark about a single digit growth from last year.

Similarly, the expenses on DRAM is expected to surpass those for NAND flash memories as well. Meanwhile, the spending will increase by 26 percent next year, due to investments expected to rise for both DRAM and NAND flash in 2022. The trend will also be reflected in the power semiconductors and microprocessor units, with the former expected to see a 46 percent rise this year and 26 percent in 2022 while the latter expected to record a 40 percent rise in 2022.

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While Samsung is the world’s largest memory chip maker and second largest semiconductor based firm in terms of revenue, it is expected to only rank fourth in terms of chip fabrication capacity for matured nodes in 2021.

According to a Counterpoint Research report (Via SamMobile), the South Korean tech giant will rank fourth for chip fabrication capacity for matured nodes this year. For those unaware, the matured or legacy nodes are the 40nm or older chip fabrication technologies. This would have the company rank behind the world’s largest contract chip maker, TSMC, which is projected to have a 28 percent share of the global chip fabrication capacity this year.

Similarly, UMC is also predicted to achieve a market share of 13 percent followed by China’s SMIC that is expected to register an 11 percent share in the matured node production capacity. Samsung will rank fourth in this regard, due to its shifting focus towards more advanced nodes like the 10nm, 7nm, and 5nm processes. At the moment, Samsung Foundry is manufacturing 5nm chips for Qualcomm and System LSI. Furthermore, both Samsung and TSMC are the only two manufacturers that have successfully mass produced the 7nm or newer processes.

This has led to both brands seeing large orders from other chip making giants that outsource production, including the likes of AMD, NVIDIA, Huawei, Intel, and even Apple. Although, the applications of the more advanced nodes aren’t universal as the needs of different industries vary. Thus, there was an imbalance between supply and demand for the legacy nodes, which has affected industries like automobiles, smartphones, computers, gaming consoles, and servers.

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A new report has revealed that China will apparently fall short of its goal of achieving chip self sufficiency by the year 2025. The new market research has revealed that only 19.4 percent of the ICs in its market will have been produced locally.

According to TheElec report, a market research report from IC Insights found that China will fall short of its chip self sufficiency goal by a large margin. As per the nation’s original plans, it aimed to have 70 percent of the ICs in its market produced locally, although, the figure arrives at just 19.4 percent as per current estimations. Back in 2020, locally produced ICs accounted for 15.9 percent of China’s total IC market that is worth 143.4 billion US Dollars, which is up from 10.2 percent from back in 2010.

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Furthermore, out of these 22.7 billion US Dollars worth of locally manufactured ICs, companies with headquarters in China only produced 8.3 billion US Dollars worth of ICs. This accounted for only 5.9 percent of the total IC market in China. In other words, the rest of the ICs produced locally were from foreign companies such as TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, UMC, and others that had their IC wafer fabs located within the country.

The report also states that if China based IC production rises to 43.2 billion US Dollars in 2025, it would still only account for just 7.5 percent of the total expected global IC market of that year, which is projected to be around 577.9 billion US Dollars in value. The news arrives despite the local government’s efforts and investment into major firms like Huawei, ZTE, SMIC, and more. Although, US sanctions against these companies have made it difficult for them to secure core technology and produce chips on their own.

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The sales of semiconductors are expected to grow across the globe. Back in November 2020, semiconductor sales reached 39.4 billion US Dollars, which is up from 7 percent year on year.

According to an SIA report (Via DigiTimes), “Global sales of semiconductors continued to rise in November, increasing on a year-to-year basis by the highest percentage since March. Annual sales in 2020 are tracking well ahead of the total from 2019, despite substantial headwinds caused by the pandemic and other macroeconomic factors,” as per John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO.

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He further added that, “Sales into the Americas remained strong in November, increasing year-to-year by a double-digit percentage for the eleventh consecutive month.” The report states that sales of semiconductors had risen by 14.2 percent year on year in the Americas during November, while sales in China rose by 6.3 percent and grew by 5.3 percent in the Asia Pacific/All Other regions.

Despite most areas regions seeing growth, sales in Japan and Europe declined by 1 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. The sales of semiconductors in November also marked an increase across every region, on a month on month basis. This includes the growth of 6 percent in Europe, 3.2 percent in Americas, 2.9 percent rise in China, the Asia Pacific/All other regions saw a 2.8 percent raise, and finally Japan with a surge of 1.6 percent as well.

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The Indian government has recently issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for setting up an existing semiconductor FAB plant in the region and is even planning to offer incentives to attract investments.

According to a BusinessToday report, the government is keen on bringing investments to set up or expand a wafer/device fabrication plant within the country or even acquire semiconductor FABs outside of India. Notably, the plans are the main part of the government’s National Policy on Electronics 2019, which aims to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).

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For those unaware, semiconductor technologies are an integral part of the digital world in this day and age, with various economies also rushing for a similar goal at the moment. Notably, semiconductors are a crucial part of the total value of Bill of Material (BOM). Furthermore, semiconductor manufacturing is a complex and research intensive area that also requires high investments. Thus, the Indian government is planning to incentivize and attract investments to set up FABs in India.

This move also arrives as the nation is striving to increase it global manufacturing share of smartphones, automotive electronics, IT hardware, industrial and medical technology, and even IoT (Internet of Things) devices within the near future. The country plans on expanding its electronics manufacturing sector to 400 billion US Dollars by the year 2025.  The government is currently inviting proposals for semiconductor FABs with the last date of submissions being 31st January 2021. Information received through these responses will help in formulating a scheme to expand on existing semiconductor facilities or acquire such plants outside of India.

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Earlier this month, China based Microelectronics Technology Co Ltd. underwent an industrial and commercial change. The company had added Oppo as one of its shareholders and even brought in other investors to raise its registered capital.

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer currently holds about 10 percent of the shares of Microelectronics Technology. Alongside other investors, the company has raised its registered capital from 1,314,880 Yuan (roughly 201,000 US Dollars) to 1,753,194 Yuan (roughly 268,000 US Dollars), which marks an increase of 33 percent. The Shanghai based Microelectronics Technology was established back in 2019 and its business scope has revolved around integrated circuit chip design and service, as per an ITHome report.

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Furthermore, it also includes development in technology in the semiconductor fields, with intelligent solutions and computer technology as well. In other words, Oppo has invested and acquired shares into a semiconductor based firm. At the moment, the semiconductor field is booming with industry giants like TSMC being a primary supplier for companies across the globe. Oppo’s investment into a company from its home country showcases its possible local sourcing solutions for the future.

Recently, as Huawei struggles with the impacts of the US sanctions, other Chinese firms have worked on reinforcing their own supply chains. Huawei has also invested in multiple firms based around semiconductor technology, so it isn’t surprising that another smartphone brand like Oppo do the same. Although, we have no means of knowing what the company has planned at the moment, so stay tuned for more updates.

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13 European nations including Germany, France, Spain, and others are teaming up to invest in processors and semiconductor technologies. The countries are making this move to grow in semiconductors and related fields, which will also include technology key to interconnected devices and data processing to rival the likes of the US and Asia.

At the moment, Europe’s share of the global semiconductor market, which is valued at 440 billion Euros (roughly 533 billion US Dollars), is just 10 percent. Furthermore, the EU relies on chips that are made overseas. According to a Reuters report, this dependence on foreign suppy for semiconductor technology came into spotlight during the Coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, the concerns were further backed with increasing sensitivity towards security.

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Certain nations are more concerned over security over some foreign governments. Thus, the group also have security minded reasons for joining hands to shift away from relying on foreign chips that are required in core areas like cars, medical care equipment, mobile phones, and networking as well. Earlier this year, the European Union had agreed to allocate 145 billion Euros, which is equal to a fifth of its virus economic recovery fund for digital projects.

These 13 nations will work together to boost Europe’s electronic presence and value in the global market. In a joint statement, the group stated that “This will require a collective effort to pool investment and to coordinate actions, by both public and private stakeholders.” The group wiil be reaching out to various companies to form industrial alliances for the purpose of research and investment for future projects and the development of processors while seeking further fundings as well.

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AMD is buying its rival semiconductor company Xilinx. This transaction ill be an all stock deal worth 35 billion US Dollars, which was announced earlier this week by both companies.

Previously, we had reported on the chipmaker planning on buying Xilinx, with both firms then being in “talks” for the acquisition. The former will likely leverage the latter’s field programmable gate array (or FPGA) to increase its competence in offerings within the data centers and machine learning fields. After the deal, Xilinx stockholders will receive 1.7234 shares of AMD stock for each Xilinx share they held previously. This translates to about 143 US Dollars per share of Xilinx stocks.

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Furthermore, AMD stockholders will now own about 74 percent of the combined company, with Xilinx stockholders owning about 26 percent. At the moment, the deal now faces approval from different authorities in the UK, the US, European Union, and China, as well as shareholders from both companies. The approval process is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

According to TheElec report, Lisa Su, AMD CEO, will lead the combined company while Xilinx CEO will join as the President and be responsible for the Xilinx business and strategic growth initiatives. Similarly, at least two other Xilinx directors will also join the AMD board. Su added that “Our acquisition of Xilinx marks the next leg in our journey to establish AMD as the industry’s high performance computing leader and partner of choice for the largest and most important technology companies in the world.”

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A new report has revealed that AMD is apparently working on better competing with its rivals, Intel and Nvidia, through the acquisition of Xilinx. Reportedly, the known chipmaker is in advanced talks with the FPGA maker for a deal of around 30 billion US Dollars.

For those unaware, Xilinx is known for its FPGA products and has shared a close relationship with AMD in the past. The company has worked with team red for the Xilinx deep learning solution on the AMD EPYC processors among other endeavors. FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) are semiconductor devices that can be configured and offer various advantages over other types of devices like CPU or GPU in terms of flexibility with a varied workload.

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According to a WallStreetJournal report, the talks of acquisition are apparently in the advance stages, although no finer details regarding the deal are currently known. Although, the move might be AMD’s efforts to strengthen itself to better take on its primary rival Intel (for processors) and Nvidia (for graphics cards). Xilinx has made various breakthroughs within its 7nm processes and bringing its technology over to AMD might broaden the latter’s arsenal.

Furthermore, we could soon see a closely knit CPU+FPGA solutions in the near future through this buyout within AMD’s current chiplet designs. The EPYC platform would also benefit from this, with an integrated FPGA chiplets to boost AI workload performance in data centers. Notably, bringing Xilin under its roof might open doors for AMD in the automotive, aerospace and defense, data center, HPC, industrial, IoT, and communications markets that the FPGA maker currently operates within.

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Earlier this week, TSMC unveiled a new roadmap for the next two years in its annual conference. In this event, the world’s largest contract chipmaker shared some interesting things, like working on setting up a new foundry for 2nm chip, according to a GSMArena report.

TSMC has already started work on its 2nm foundry and is already building a new factory and research and development center. The company will employ around 8,000 people to help achieve the evolution from 3nm chips that are expected to arrive in the consumer market by the end of 2022. Notably, YP Chin, the company’s senior VP confirmed that TSMC has already purchased land in Hsinchu to expand its research and development center.

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Furthermore, the 2nm process node will be developed on the GAA (gate all around) technology rather than its FinFET solution, which is being used for the 3nm fab. The technology is the next step in the semiconductor industry. Similarly, Samsung has already announced plans on using GAA for its 3nm process technology by 2022. So, TSMC entering the race is a good sign of competition in the next generation of chip manufacturing.

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Samsung is apparently raising its efforts into research and development for its semiconductor business to pursue its vision of new K-Chip technology. The South Korean tech giant has already planned academic partnerships and collaborations across its home country.

Many are unaware that Samsung has its own foundry and manufactures chips as well. While it heavily uses its own designs, there were moments where its own designs had paled in comparison to its competitors. A notable example would be The Exynos 990 SoC being replaced by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 SoC after the latter was proven to provide better performance overall.

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This had also led to the feeling of “humiliation” within the company’s mobile chip division. Thus, it arrives as no surprise that Samsung is now placing an increased emphasis on its semiconductor business through its research and development teams. Furthermore, the company has been focusing on its artificial intelligence solutions as well, with Dr. Sebastian Seung being promoted from Chief Research Scientist to head of Samsung Research.

One of the reasons why Samsung is investing heavily within its home country is also to bolster the economy during this time of crisis. Although, it is still too early to determine just how well or noteworthy the new “K-Chips” actually perform. Samsung has placed its bets on this new technology and is confident in its ability thus far, but the competition is stiff with industry giants like Qualcomm also moving ahead with their own plans.

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The former Samsung official, Chang Won-ki, has resigned from his position from the Chinese tech firm, Beijing Eswin Computing Technology. Chang had recently joined the organization and had been the center of a controversy regarding technology leak to China.

According to a new report, the former Samsung China president has quit Eswin due to the controversy surrounding him. Chang had declined any such possibilities and even stated that the only time he was a part of Samsung’s semiconductor department was for the memory branch when the South Korean tech giant made 1MB DRAMs. Furthermore, the reason for the shift to Eswin also involved a personal friendship with Wang Dongsheng, who currently heads Eswin.

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Notably, Wang was also the Chairman of display technology maker BOE, which is a known rival of Samsung. This also ended up adding fuel to the debate. Reportedly, Chang left Esin as he didn’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings and that he didn’t want to unintentionally hurt Samsung or his successors. The former Samsung senior executive had joined the company back in 1981 and had worked there till 2017.

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An ex-Samsung Electronics executive has assured that his move to China won’t involve any technological leak in the process. Chang Won-ki made the statement after concerns were raised about his move to a Chinese semiconductor company.

Chang was the president and head of Samsung’s China operation. The senior executive made headlines with his move to Beijing Eswin Computing Technology became public knowledge. He had reportedly joined Eswin as the Vice Chairman earlier this year, back in February. Notably, Eswin is led by Wang Dongsheng, who had previously worked as the Chairman for the Chinese display firm known as BOE, which is also a known rival of Samsung and LG in the industry.

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In a recent interview, Chang stated that he had joined Eswin out of his friendship with Wang. He added that he even introduced BOE made LCD panels to Samsung back when Wang was serving as chairman of BOE. To address the concerns over technological leaks, Chang said that he worked in Samsung’s semiconductor field back when the company made 1MB DRAM and has no current knowledge of the technology to give away.

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Samsung and Huawei are both competitors in the field of consumer-related products. But regardless of this, both companies are business partners as well with the latter representing a huge source of revenue for the former. This is especially true in the semiconductor business where Samsung particularly specializes in. But according to a new report, the South Korean tech giant might soon lose the revenue stream from Huawei in the arriving couple of years.

Notably, Samsung’s top five biggest clients at the end of Q4 2019 were companies like Apple, Best Buy, Deutsche Telekom, Verizon, and Huawei. Each of these companies also represents different areas where Samsung specializes in, like smartphones, semiconductors, displays, 5G networking and more.

Historically, Huawei has relied on Samsung’s semiconductor business for DRAM and NAND flash memories for its smartphones. However, this may come to an end due to the new Chinese Government initiative to encourage local industries and minimize reliance on imported components in the next 5 years. This marks a major shift in China’s manufacturing field by the year 2025.

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China Manufacturing 2025 is favorable to companies like Huawei, helping them become more self-sufficient in the next couple of years. This will also help in reducing its reliance on Samsung, who may suffer a huge blow in the wake of this market shift, particularly in the semiconductor segment. Meaning, the South Korean company will lose a large source of revenue which would take time to recover from.

Huawei has seen great success in the Chinese smartphone market (which is the largest market for handsets) which has also led to Samsung enjoying a healthy source of revenue in recent years. But if Huawei adopts local alternatives, Samsung might be in trouble. Fortunately, Samsung also has Intel as one of its clients in the semiconductor field which has become an important client recently with the production of 14nm CPU chipsets being manufactured in Samsung’s facilities.

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Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma has made a case for nations around the world including China, Japan and others to develop their own semiconductor technology in order to whittle down the U.S’ stronghold on the global chip market. The Chinese billionaire and entrepreneur made this call while speaking to students at the Waseda University in Tokyo, Bloomberg reports.

According to Jack Ma, 100 percent of the market for chips is controlled by Americans and this was as a result of the fact that they were the early movers. He also raised a fear that only brings to mind ZTE‘s recent ban by the U.S government. The Alibaba co-found wondered what would happen if the U.S chipmakers decided to stop selling. Jack Ma also elaborated on his company’s growing interest in chips which saw the e-commerce giant acquire local design-house Hangzhou C-Sky Microsystems Co. The Alibaba CEO  said he’s motivated in part by a desire to make chips that would be cheap, efficient and available to all. He said his company has invested in five semiconductor firms in the past four years.

The view expressed by Ma is similar to those expressed in the recent past by Chinese business chieftains and politicians alike. Fellow Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings’ founder Pony Ma is also envisaging a world-class domestic chip industry as tensions rise with the U.S., the global leader in cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

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The action taken against ZTE may have kickstarted a revolution which could see the Chinese semiconductor industry becoming independent and viable. The feud is at the heart of Beijing’s existing plan to shell out some $150 billion over 10 years to achieve a leading position in chip design and manufacturing. In the long run, U.S companies such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel and others will be the biggest losers, considering the important place Chinese companies sit in their supply chain.

(source)

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