China is experiencing a reshuffling of the EV market after rapidly scaling the sector. As the situation intensifies, some automotive parts companies have gradually reduced supplies to China's homegrown carmakers, shifting focus to European, US, and other customers.
TSMC and Japan's Kumamoto University have announced a collaboration to cultivate semiconductor talent and conduct semiconductor research. Ever since TSMC built a wafer fab in Kumamoto through its subsidiary JASM, there have been concerns over the shortage of local semiconductor talent. To alleviate these concerns, TSMC has partnered with Kyushu University, Kumamoto University, and others to nurture more talents.
A recent report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has emerged, indicating Baidu is poised to provide AI capabilities for Apple's next-generation iPhone 16.
China's production capacity in mature semiconductor processes has continued to grow with the substantial financial backing of the government. For power semiconductor manufacturer Force-MOS, the company has been avoiding the cutthroat price slashing in China's electric vehicle (EV) market, and as MOSFET wafer shipments held steady in the first quarter of 2024, order volumes are expected to remain at the same level reaching into the second quarter.
China was already the largest OLED panel producer in 2023, manufacturing 51% of the world's OLED panels. Now it's actively increasing its capacity for OLED materials, for which China's market share in 2023 was 38%.
Shares of South Korean electrical equipment makers are among the biggest winners in the country's stock market this year, driven by an anticipated surge in power demand from artificial intelligence and data centers in the US.
After the Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung Electronics will double its investment in Taylor, Texas, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced granting US$6.6 billion of CHIPS Act funding to TSMC, higher than the US$5 billion previously reported by the media.
The US Department of Justice recently said Apple CarPlay's phone-mirroring service shows the company's anticompetitive behavior over competitors. While automotive suppliers might disagree with the justice department, they also said CarPlay will likely lose traction.
Operations at Taiwan-based PCB and OSAT companies have returned to normal after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the island on April 3. As Taiwan becomes a critical IC production hub worldwide, industry players advocated forming a partnership with Japanese companies to mitigate risks caused by natural disasters.
In the past, Samsung Display (SDC) elected to focus on small and medium-sized panels to differentiate from LG Display (LGD), which produces large-size panels, and SDC was able to achieve success. However, the two companies' paths are now starting to "converge" in the OLED market. Nevertheless, their common "enemy" remains the Chinese manufacturers, as China is rapidly catching up with South Korea in the global OLED panel market.
Chinese and South Korean battery manufacturers dominate LFP and ternary batteries for EVs and energy storage systems (ESS). However, as companies expand into foreign markets, the Chinese and South Korean governments are concerned that the overseas scale-up will pull domestic companies off the leaderboard.
