Sequans Communications has announced its intention to concentrate future investments on the massive IoT market opportunity, leveraging its 4G products and 5G roadmap following the completion of its transaction with Qualcomm.

The robust demand stemming from AI device applications and related semiconductor demand will bring Taiwan's GDP to a record high in 2024, according to industry observers.

Novatek, Taiwan's leading display driver IC (DDI) manufacturer, has announced plans to commence mass production of its highly anticipated OLED TDDI technology as early as the second quarter of 2025. This announcement has generated optimism regarding Novatek's prospects in the OLED DDI sector, with projections indicating significant market share expansion in the coming years.

To raise network standards for the general public, governments around the world have been increasing their budgets for network infrastructure since 2023. Telecom operators, the networking equipment supply chain, and network chip manufacturers have all been eagerly awaiting related opportunities, which are expected to pick up in 2025.

After five years of development, Intel's Core Ultra 200V processor family, codenamed Lunar Lake, has been confirmed for manufacturing on TSMC's 3nm process, ushering in a shift in x86 architecture power consumption, according to industry sources.

As Microsoft transitions from a software giant to a cloud leader, with its cloud business now accounting for 40% of its revenue, a senior executive emphasized the company's expanding AI partnerships. The executive clarified that Microsoft's custom chip development serves as a reference model for customers rather than positioning the company as a competitor to chip manufacturers.

Plans to provide local chip design and basic training in Prague under the Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program (Taiwan CbI) in October have reportedly been affected due to the Czech Republic's recent change in government officials. Cheng-Wen Wu, Minister of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), stated that both parties are working to reach a solution and hope to finalize plans by the end of December.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in chip design has become a focal point in the semiconductor industry. Leading electronic design automation (EDA) companies, including Synopsys and Cadence, have emphasized that AI tools can significantly reduce integrated circuit (IC) design time.

China's domestically produced HPC processors have advanced; yet, they still struggle to be the preferred option for local cloud and AI companies, according to industry sources.

Google's innovative approach of using artificial intelligence to design AI chips is revolutionizing the semiconductor industry. The key to their AlphaChip system lies in its reinforcement learning method, which treats chip layout as a game.

During the 3rd GMIF 2024 Innovation Summit in Shenzhen on September 27, Unisoc's executive vice president, Dr. Luke Liu, announced that despite a 3.2% year-over-year decline in global smartphone shipments in 2023, the company achieved revenue exceeding CNY13 billion (approx. US$1.78 billion).

Cerebras Systems, a leading competitor in the AI processor market dominated by Nvidia, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. The company's S-1 filing reveals its heavy reliance on two critical partners: G42, a United Arab Emirates-based AI company that accounts for over 80% of its revenue, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), its sole supplier for wafer manufacturing.

Qualcomm is set to unveil its next flagship mobile platform, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, along with other products at its annual launch event scheduled for late October. However, new products in its Snapdragon X Elite series for PCs will have to wait until the second half of 2025, according to sources. The launch event is expected to focus primarily on mobile chips and automotive electronics, as suggested by the invited media attendees.

What happens when a tech giant starts to stumble? For outsiders, Intel's decline may come as a shock. However, for industry insiders, the failure of the semiconductor giant can be traced back to a decades-long series of strategic missteps and missed opportunities, culminating in its current predicament.

Reports suggest that in addition to Qualcomm, Arm has expressed interest in acquiring Intel's product division. However, public speculation indicates that due to the deep-rooted rivalry between Arm and Intel's x86 architecture, as well as Arm's financial constraints, such an acquisition is unlikely to succeed.

Synopsys has announced its continued, close collaboration with TSMC to deliver advanced EDA and IP solutions on TSMC's most advanced process and 3DFabric technologies to accelerate innovation for AI and multi-die designs.

The automotive supply chain has been divided into two camps in recent years: the West, encompassing Europe and the US, and China. While near-term demand projections remain uncertain, integrated circuit (IC) distributors maintain optimism about global automotive demand in 2025.

Taiwan's IC design houses are anticipating a sluggish fourth quarter in 2024 but remain hopeful for a rebound in 2025, driven by increased demand in sectors such as PCs, network communications, and automotive electronics.

MediaTek's flagship platform, Dimensity 9400, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen4 are set to officially launch in October. With both products making the official transition to the 3nm generation this year, costs will significantly rise compared to previous models, leading to widespread speculation of a substantial price hike for smartphone SoCs this year.

IC design firms are aggressively negotiating with foundry partners to achieve lower quotes for mature process manufacturing in order to alleviate cost pressure, according to industry sources. Except for cloud AI chips, the semiconductor market has been slow in 2024 due to global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions. Brand vendors are reluctant to provide specific estimates of the market until the macro environment stabilizes.

As the largest beneficiary of the generative AI surge, Nvidia's dominance has attracted a wave of challengers. The recent initial public offering (IPO) filing by Cerebras signals growing efforts to challenge Nvidia's control over supply and pricing in the AI chip market.

India-based IC design startup L&T Semiconductor Technologies revealed it's developing 15 products, which will be mass-produced in two years and will start the chipmaking business once it reaches a certain threshold in sales.

TSMC is advancing system-level innovation by improving the 3D IC design ecosystem through enhanced collaboration with foundries, customers, and partners, according to a recent blog post. The latest version of its 3Dblox standard has been further developed to more effectively address the challenges of large 3D IC design with early planning capabilities.

Global spending on 300mm fab equipment is expected to reach a record US$400 billion from 2025 to 2027, according to SEMI. The robust spending is being driven by the regionalization of semiconductor fabs and the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips used in data centers and edge devices.

Business opportunities for peripheral chips can only advance further when AI servers become more popularized. The industry believes that the first wave of growth may occur in 2025.