These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of July 15 – July 19.
China's counter-intuitive semiconductor exports surge goes unnoticed
While China's aggressive automotive exports caught the world's attention, China's semiconductor exports have been quietly outperforming automotive exports in both growth rate and value, all amidst ongoing US export sanctions on advanced semiconductors. This surge in semiconductor exports could define China's next wave of industrial competitiveness.
Silicon dreams: a SWOT analysis of India's burgeoning semiconductor industry
The world is in a semiconductor craze right now, and India especially stands out. The country is difficult to understand from the outside; it's too big and diverse for any data to be comprehensive. Bringing it together to build any ecosystem is a herculean task, and semiconductors are probably the toughest. To shed light on this intricate scenario, DIGITIMES Asia has explored a SWOT analysis of India's semiconductor industry, drawing insights from industry leaders and expert analysts.
SK Hynix on track to explore interposer-free HBM4 production
In vying for Nvidia's next-gen memory orders, SK Hynix is prioritizing cost reduction through a more radical approach: eliminating silicon interposers from HBM4 production. The silicon interposer is vital in HBM architecture, as it directly connects the GPU, CPU, or ASIC chips to the DRAM stack. However, it can be a significant cost factor and be rather difficult and expensive to produce. Therefore, finding alternatives to silicon interposers has started to gain momentum in the industry.
TSMC proposes Foundry 2.0 to alleviate antitrust concerns
Following Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments about Taiwan taking the chip business away from the US, TSMC has come up with a new definition of the foundry sector, a move aimed at dispelling market concerns about its dominance. The new concept of "Foundry 2.0" will effectively reduce TSMC's market share to less than 30% of a much bigger sector from the present calculation of 60% based on a stricter pure-play foundry model.
TSMC sees 3nm chip output exceed 100,000 wafers monthly
According to industry sources, the monthly output of 3nm chips at TSMC will reach 125,000 wafers in the second half of this year, up from 100,000 units currently. The output ramp-up is a result of the foundry's swift expansion of production capacity to meet the demand from major clients like Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. Additionally, the 2nm process technology is progressing toward mass production, expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025 with a target monthly manufacturing capacity of 30,000 wafers.
Samsung halts foundry line construction at P4 amid customer challenges
Samsung Electronics is reportedly adjusting its investment pace, postponing the construction of the Phase Two foundry line at its Pyeongtaek Plant 4 (P4) due to difficulties in securing major foundry customers. Priority will shift to the construction of the Phase Three memory production line for NAND and other memory chips, starting in June this year. This decision is likely due to Samsung's foundry business declining and its memory business thriving.
Huawei sues MediaTek in potential shift to IC design house patent licensing
MediaTek has issued a statement confirming that Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the company. Media reports suggest that the lawsuit likely involves patents related to 5G/4G/3G cellular mobile communication technologies. This legal action may indicate a significant shift in Huawei's approach to patent licensing, effectively moving the focus from the end-device level to the component level. This also marks a deviation from the standard model used by companies like Qualcomm, where licensing fees are often based on the selling price of the smartphone.
