Semiconductor News 2020908

Main News

1. The Rise of Chinese Semiconductor Equipment Makersand International Competition Chinese semiconductor equipment makers are rapidly emerging and eroding Japanese market share while threatening U.S. dominance. SiCarrier, a domestic company, has revitalized its supplier base with a large order of $1.4 billion, but lithography technology remains a challenge. SinoMicro Corporation has launched six new products, accelerating the pace of domestic production and high performance. This move is having a major impact on the global semiconductor supply chain and technology competition.
2. Virtualization Bug Problem on NVIDIA High-End GPUs A virtualization reset bug has been reported on NVIDIA’s high-end GPUs, GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX PRO 6000, requiring a complete system reboot. There is enough urgency that a $1,000 reward is being offered to fix this issue. The impact on professional users is significant because these GPUs are specialized for AI workloads and the RTX 5090 128GB models are expensive at $13,200 a piece.
3. Qualcomm CEO Predicts “Robotics and Physical AI” asthe Next Big Market Qualcomm CEO sees “robotics and physical AI” as the next big market, pointing to the huge potential for “personal AI devices” on a scale beyond smartphones. This suggests that AI may expand the forms and uses of devices and create new industry sectors. The CEO also expressed hope for the future of the Intel Foundry, although it is currently in the preparation stage.
4. Korean MCP Exports Surge, SK Hynix’s Outlook Improves Korean multi-chip package (MCP) exports to Taiwan are surging, dispelling concerns about the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. The strong exports are a major factor boosting the outlook for SK Hynix in particular. This trend reflects the robust demand for AI-related products and the resulting boom in the memory market.
5. India ‘s Semiconductor Promotion Measures and Foreign Firms’ Investment Trends The Indian government has been aggressively promoting its ambitions in the semiconductor sector with the announcement of tax reform, giving momentum to the development of the domestic industry. However, major foreign companies such as ASML, Fujifilm, and Tokyo Electron are holding back from major investments in India at this time. This indicates the gap that exists between India’s policy drive and international investment decisions, and the importance of improving the investment environment going forward.
6. Major Reorganization of Korean Government Organizations and Strengthening of AI Strategy The Korean government is undergoing a major reorganization, including the establishment of a new “Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment,” the renaming of the “Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources,” the dismantling of the “Finance Commission,” and the upgrading of the “Ministry of Science, Technology and Information Communication” to the level of vice-premier. These reorganizations are aimed at promoting AI technology development as a national strategy through climate change countermeasures, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and completing the blueprint of the “National AI Strategy Committee” and strengthening its implementation capabilities.
7. SMIC’s AI GPU Revenue for Huawei Slashed According to Morgan Stanley analysis, Chinese semiconductor foundry SMIC is expected to cut AI GPU revenue for Huawei by more than 50% due to poor yields. The report highlights the serious challenges China faces in manufacturing process stability and efficiency as it seeks to domestically produce cutting-edge semiconductor technology. It illustrates the significant impact that international technology regulations are having on China’s semiconductor industry.
8. France Expands Into Taiwan’s Semiconductor EcosystemThrough Foxconn Alliance France is focusing on advanced packaging technology and strengthening its entry into Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem through a new alliance with Foxconn. This move is indicative of the diversification of international cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain and the current intensifying international competition, especially in the area of advanced packaging, which is becoming increasingly important in the post-Moore’s Law era.
9. AMD ‘s Latest CPU Announcement and Claims Regarding x86 Energy Efficiency AMD announced the official launch of the Ryzen 5 9500F on September 16th, offering up to 27% performance improvement in competitive gaming. Furthermore, AMD claims that the ARM architecture does not have an advantage over x86 in energy efficiency, based on the performance of the latest generation APUs. This reiterates its technological superiority over the competition.
10. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Changes Material from Titanium to Aluminum Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Pro model will change from the current titanium material to aluminum, which is reportedly actually a “major upgrade”. This material change is likely the result of pursuing multifaceted benefits, such as design flexibility, manufacturing costs, thermal management performance, or specific durability requirements. At the same time, engineering samples of the iPhone 17 Pro Max have been released.

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