Semiconductor News 20251127

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1. TSMC Shakes Delicate Balance Between U.S. and Taiwan in Lawsuit Against Former Executive TSMC has filed a lawsuit against a former senior vice president for allegedly taking trade secrets. While the lawsuit is aimed at preventing information leakage to competitor Intel, it also highlights the delicate political and legal balance between the Taiwanese authorities’ policy of protecting TSMC’s technology and the foreign company’s (TSMC) right to sue in the United States.
2. Rapidus Plans to Build Second Fab for 1.4nm Chips in FY2027 Japanese next-generation semiconductor company Rapidus reportedly plans to build a **second fab** in Hokkaido for 1.4nm process chip production in FY2027. With this, Rapidus is on an ambitious schedule to catch up with the world’s leading foundry companies, aiming to start 1.4nm production in 2029.
3. ASML Suffers Explosive Spying Allegations, Semiconductor Neutrality Questioned ASML allegedly offered to spy on the U.S. government to gather information as its **”eyes and ears” in China, according to a report. The allegations come after ASML allegedly violated a gentlemen’s agreement to restrict sales of its DUV lithography equipment to China, and show that the company is pushing the limits of maintaining semiconductor equipment manufacturer neutrality** in the face of geopolitical tensions.
4. Chinese AI Chip Uses 3D Hybrid Bonding Technology to Rival Nvidia’s 4nm Class Exclusive reports of a new 3D hybrid bonded AI chip from China that is said to have performance comparable to NVIDIA’s 4nm class. This Chinese chip is an important example of China’s technological push to achieve high computational performance under international sanctions by leveraging advanced packaging technology.
5. TSMC’s Collaborator TEL Absent from Annual Awards Following 2nm Technology Leak It has been reported that a major collaborator, **Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL)**, was absent from TSMC’s annual awards due to a leakage incident involving 2nm technology. This incident illustrates the importance of maintaining confidentiality regarding cutting-edge process technology and the serious impact that technology leaks can have on relationships among supply chain partners.
6. U.S. Significantly Increases Lead in Advanced Chips McKinsey reports that the U.S. is currently extending its lead in advanced chips by a significant margin over other countries. Meanwhile, the report notes that Europe is shifting its strategic focus from domestic manufacturing and R&D to defending and ensuring resilience throughout the supply chain.
7. Google TPUs Gain Momentum in AI Chip Market as Nvidia Maintains GPU Lead While NVIDIA continues to defend its dominance in the GPU market, Google’s **Tensor Processing Unit (TPU)** is gaining momentum in the AI chip market. This increased competition will have a significant impact on AI infrastructure. This increased competition reflects the fact that companies building AI infrastructures are breaking away from NVIDIA’s monopoly and looking to alternative solutions such as TPUs for cost efficiency and performance.
8. Samsung Increases Promotions to Strengthen Leadership in AI and Semiconductors Samsung has expanded its promotional appointments to strengthen its leadership in AI and semiconductors, reversing a trend of declining promotions over the past five years. This strategy demonstrates Samsung’s clear intent to strengthen its management structure by favoring internal experts and talented individuals to meet the technological competition in the AI era.
9. DRAM and NAND Shortages to Cause PC Price Increases MAINGEAR’s CEO stated that PC (personal computer) prices will increase due to the growing shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory. HP also announced plans to raise prices and reduce product specifications due to rising memory costs. This indicates that the tight supply in the memory market, driven by AI demand and other factors, is beginning to affect the consumer PC market.
10. TSMC Reaffirms Leadership and Node Evolution from N2 to A14 TSMC reiterated its leadership in cutting-edge nodes and unveiled a roadmap for evolution from the N2 (2nm) processto the more future A14 (1.4nm) process. This demonstrates the company’s determination to maintain its technological leadership in the foundry industry and continue to lead the forefront of chip miniaturization.

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