These are the most-read news stories in the week of August 14-18, 2023 on DIGITIMES Asia website:
Top Chinese equipment supplier: China is 5 gen behind in chip manufacturing due to US sanctions
The United States and its allies have been obstructing the development of China's semiconductor industry, often citing national security reasons. However, the founder, chairman, and CEO of China's Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC), Gerald Yin argues that the true intentions of the US government have become evident since then, leading to China falling behind by at least five generations in semiconductor chip manufacturing technology.
Leading Chinese scholar Wei Shaojun proposes new chip architecture for AI applications
At a time when China's tech companies are frantically scrambling for Nvidia's high-end GPU chips to catch generative AI business opportunities, Wei Shaojun, a professor at Tsinghua University and an academician at the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, emphasized at Intel's 2023 China Academic Summit that future AI technology needs to start from the end application. He proposed a new chip architecture that the semiconductor industry in China is pursuing today, which not only requires strong software programmability but also strong hardware programmability.
Qualcomm rumored to cut staff in Taiwan
Amid the continued sluggish market, leading IC design company Qualcomm emphasized further cost control during this quarter's financial report meeting and said that it has presented a new layoff plan to the local US government. There are rumors on the internet that a company "Q" will be laying off 200 employees in its Taiwan office, and the company is said to be Qualcomm. Departments rumored to be affected are mainly product engineering, testing, and validation.
Taiwanese DDI suppliers may turn to Chinese foundries for cost reasons
Display driver IC (DDI) suppliers continue to be under pressure to reduce chip prices, and cost considerations may send them turning to Chinese pure-play foundries that can offer significantly lower manufacturing prices than their Taiwanese counterparts, according to industry sources.
FIT injects US$400 million into Indian subsidiary
Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), a subsidiary of Foxconn Group, announced a capital injection to its Indian subsidiary, as Foxconn Group has been scaling up its Indian investments in mobile phones, semiconductors, and EV manufacturing.
JCET, Tongfu and Huawei partaking Chinese effort to strengthen chiplet technology
Chiplet technology has become increasingly crucial for China's semiconductor industry, and it will likely be a core driver for China to reduce reliance on foreign technology. In the past two years, many technology companies have begun investing in this field, and some enterprises have already achieved mass production.
Chinese automakers secure SiC power modules to narrow BYD's lead
Car manufacturers have long been investing in building up their automotive chip supply chain, and the power module sector has been attracting major investment from them. Automakers in China are trying to secure their access to power modules by collaborating with silicon carbide compound semiconductor (SiC) product providers, so as to catch up with BYD, the electrical automotive giant with the capability of producing batteries and IGBT/SiC key components.
Chinese chip import substitution mired in internal competition as industry leader lambastes US sanctions
In response to the escalating US bans, Gerald Yin, a prominent figure in China's semiconductor equipment industry, has finally spoken out. Yin, who had spent an extended period in the US and held high positions in semiconductor companies there, criticized the US sanctions against China and stated that they are groundless and will yield unfavorable outcomes. Despite the favorable trend toward domestic equipment substitution in China, it has also led to unprecedented competition. Yin openly discussed the severe internal competition within the domestic equipment sector, resulting in harmful competition obstructing industry development. This includes illegally obtaining competitors' trade secrets and copying their products. Companies are involved in both chip manufacturing and equipment development, leading to counterfeiting of suppliers' equipment.
Huawei rumored to be testing 5G chip and SoC, targeting flagship handset market
As Huawei's Executive Director and CEO of the Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, loudly declared in early August that "Huawei's flagship smartphones are making a comeback," the announcement has led to speculations of Huawei's imminent return to 5G smartphone market. Furthermore, Chinese media previously quoted industry sources indicating that Huawei's 5G smartphones are expected to start shipping around the end of 2023, with the earliest possible launch in October. All these indications seem to suggest that Huawei's return to the 5G smartphone market is on the horizon.
