When will memory manufacturers restart expansion plans after weathering the storm of a sluggish market and falling average selling prices (ASPs)? This question appears not hard to answer, as memory vendors are signaling a bullish outlook with a significant surge in orders for advanced semiconductor lithography equipment from ASML in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The announcement of collaboration between Intel and Taiwan's second-largest foundry manufacturing service provider United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), is one step ahead of Intel's ambitious goal of taking second place in the global semiconductor foundry market.
Samsung Electronics and Intel have long competed with each other for first place in the fierce global semiconductor IDM market, and a fierce battle for orders and rankings has begun with Intel's return to the foundry market. The wide adoption of Chiplet technology is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Samsung and Intel, which are struggling to catch up with TSMC.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's plan to build its artificial intelligence (AI) chip fab raised eyebrows these days as some say that Altman wants to raise cows for his milk, which would make sense if the cost of milk has become exceedingly expensive or if they have to line up for months to get limited supplies. However, the money spent does not necessarily guarantee the result of the internalization effort would meet his needs.
The flagship Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2-inch tablet computer, recently released in countries such as Malaysia, Italy, and Saudi Arabia, is equipped with an 8-core Kirin 9000W processor. However, it is currently unclear how this version differs from the Kirin 9000S version used in previous Huawei devices in China, and clarification is still pending.
As the global EV market grows, more emerging automakers have risen. They innovate car designs and production. Moreover, these companies have created new rules for their collaboration with suppliers.
The emergence of generative AI has made high-bandwidth memory (HBM) a bonanza, which helped the memory industry recover from huge losses due to inventory corrections in 2023.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently disclosed its overseas expansion progress and plans in its earnings report conference on January 18 and expressed interest in building a second fab in Japan. Surprisingly, supply chain sources said TSMC's success in Japan has inspired Singapore to pitch even better incentives to attract investments from TSMC.
With TSMC's Kumamoto fab progressing more smoothly than expected and market rumors even speculating about TSMC's second and third fabs in Japan, people wonder whether TSMC will shift part of the Arizona fab investment to Japan. The unspoken message is that the spotlight is no longer on Arizona, but on Kumamoto.
The year 2024 will be a global election year, with at least 20 national leaders to be elected, and more than 46 countries will organize various elections from January to December throughout the year. Looking ahead to 2024, the new governments and companies should prioritize establishing an overall strategy for securing economic safety.
While legacy carmakers like Toyota, Ford, and Tesla did not join the CES 2024, many luxury automakers and startups showcased their new EV models or even flying cars at the trade show. DIGITIMES reporters identified three trends after visiting the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center, where most automotive technologies were demonstrated.
China's satellite industry is expecting a high-growth period driven by an increasing number of application scenarios, especially in the mobile and automotive sectors. Entering 2024, Chinese smartphone brand Oppo, for instance, revealed its Find X7 Ultra with direct satellite communication ability in early January, while Xiaomi is expected to release its first phone with two-way satellite connectivity, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, in the first quarter of 2024.