These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of September 9 – September 13.
Chinese LLM developers navigate US chip sanction through innovation
Despite US export controls and subsequent chip shortages, China continues to make substantial progress in its AI industry. The country is driving innovation in AI technologies by leveraging alternative approaches that do not rely on the most advanced chips. These include optimizing code to reduce training time for large language models (LLMs) and developing smaller, more specialized models.
Huawei's triple-fold Mate XT reaches 5 million pre-orders, but converting to actual orders will be challenging
Pre-orders for Huawei's new Mate XT triple-fold smartphone on the official online store have already surpassed 5 million as of September 11. However, reports suggest that supply in the initial wave will be limited due to high product costs, high technical difficulty, and yield rate issues. Additionally, since no deposit is required for pre-orders, predicting the actual sales numbers based on pre-order figures is nearly impossible.
Huawei reenters the ring after 6 years, championing 7nm Mate XT following 3nm iPhone 16 announcement
For the first time in six years, Huawei and Apple unveiled their new smartphones simultaneously. Apple released the iPhone 16 series on September 10, while Huawei introduced the Mate XT, the world's first tri-foldable smartphone, on the same day. According to supply chain sources, Huawei intentionally scheduled the release of its new phone on the same day as Apple's. Despite its confidence, sources pointed out that progress in Huawei's smartphone processor manufacturing process has stagnated
Intel denies reports of changes to Penang expansion plan
Reports suggest that Intel's expansion plan in Penang, Malaysia, has been "partially delayed," sparking public curiosity about its potential connection to Intel's global layoff plan. However, Intel has since refuted these claims, asserting that there will be no changes to the expansion plan and denying earlier reports of any delays.
Samsung faces inevitable large-scale semiconductor reorganization as DRAM lead diminishes
Samsung is not only lagging in the HBM area, but its large lead in universal DRAM also shows signs of erosion, intensifying its internal sense of crisis. Reports are suggesting that Samsung's businesses may go through a larger-scale reorganization of personnel and teams at the end of 2024. A business reorganization under new management appears inevitable.
Former Samsung executive leaks DRAM technology to China valued as high as US$3.2 billion
Former Samsung Electronics executive Jin-seok Choi was recently detained again by court order for leaking DRAM process technology to China, with over 30 additional researchers now implicated in the case. Investigations showed that the leaked technology is valued at KRW4.3 trillion (approx. US$3.2 billion), and those involved have continued to apply for related patents in China.
China's aggressive DRAM expansion alarming South Korea's memory giants
China's leading DRAM manufacturer CXMT is reportedly ramping up its production. This move has raised alarm in the South Korean memory industry, potentially threatening the revenue and profitability of current industry leaders Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in the mature process DRAM market.
