Semiconductor News 20250712

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1. TSMC Withdraws from GaN Business TSMC’s decision to withdraw from its GaN (gallium nitride) business has had an unexpected impact on customers such as BYD. This signals a shift in TSMC’s business portfolio strategy.
2. TSMC Plans Mass Production of CoPoS Technology in 2029 [Conversation History] TSMC expects to launch a pilot line for its advanced packaging technology CoPoS in 2026 and establish mass production by 2029, with NVIDIA as the first customer. This represents a key technology advancement to support AI semiconductor demand.
3. Samsung Makes Major Investment in 2nm Chips Samsung is making a major investment in 2nm chip manufacturing, and its foundry division is entering a critical phase that will determine its future competitiveness. Competition in next-generation process technology is intensifying.
4. Intel’s Next-Generation CPU Nova Lake-S Tapes Out at TSMC N 2 Node Intel’s next-generation CPU Nova Lake-S has reportedly achieved tape-out at TSMC’s N2 node. This represents Intel’s strategy to leverage TSMC, an external foundry, for its leading-edge processes.
5. NXP Plans to Move Wafer Manufacturing to China With the appointment of a new CEO, NXP is moving forward with plans to move its wafer manufacturing facilities to China as part of its local supply chain promotion. This marks a move by the semiconductor company to diversify geographically and address geopolitical risks.
6. U.S. Semiconductor Tariffs Could Become TSMC’s “K ryptonite” For TSMC, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, U.S. semiconductor tariffs could become a “kryptonite” (weak spot) that could impede its growth. The potential impact of U.S. trade policy on the global semiconductor supply chain is a concern.
7. China Plans Numerous AI Data Centers Using Nvidia Hopper GPUs China plans 39 AI data centers using 115,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs under US export controls, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the regulations. This is a strategic move in China’s AI development.
8. Japanese OSAT Companies Collaborate to Reduce Costs and Revitalize Industry Japanese OSAT (back-end process) companies are strengthening their cooperative relationships with the goal of reducing costs and reorganizing and revitalizing the industry as a whole. This is part of an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of Japan’s semiconductor industry.
9. AI Boom Offsets Sluggish EV Market A surge in semiconductor demand from the AI boom is offsetting the impact of the sluggish electric vehicle (EV) market, leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers such as Disco to raise their quarterly earnings forecasts AI is the new major growth driver for the semiconductor market.
10. 90% of Companies “Difficult to Hold Up” if U. S. Tariffs Exceed 15% In a survey of companies, 9 out of 10 companies indicated that they would have difficulty sustaining their operations if U.S. tariffs exceeded 15%. This suggests that U.S. tariff policies could have a serious impact on a wide range of business activities.

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