The White House may be celebrating TSMC's record-breaking investment, but not everyone is cheering. The Financial Times warns that amid all the back-patting, Intel's long-term survival as a US chip powerhouse is being sidelined—a concern that's growing louder within Washington's policy circles

China-based start-up Butterfly Effect claims to have launched the world's first General AI agent, Manus. The company aims to capitalize on the momentum of "Chinese-branded AI" following DeepSeek's success. However, industry response over the past week has been muted, as experts believe the startup lacks the crucial components needed to outshine its predecessor

Intel may follow AMD's Lisa Su by spinning off its foundry business to GlobalFoundries, creating a US-based chipmaking powerhouse, says a former TSMC executive

The US economy heavily relies on domestic consumption, and under President Donald Trump, the administration employed a tariff-driven strategy aimed at bringing manufacturing back to the US The most dramatic of these measures was the 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, a move that was quickly dubbed by The Economist as " [the] dumbest trade war in history

Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its next CEO following his resignation from the board in 2024 due to dissatisfaction with the company's organizational structure. This decision comes as Intel undertakes significant reforms amid its critical mission to ensure US semiconductor security. Tan, who previously felt overwhelmed by the challenges of transforming Intel, is now seen as a key figure in revitalizing the company during this pivotal time

The Breakthrough Technology Dialogue held in Singapore at the end of February saw participation from technology experts across various countries. However, the discussions were largely influenced by Asian perspectives, with Chinese viewpoints being particularly prominent. Even in private conversations, there was limited opposition to China's stance

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a cornerstone of Taiwan's economy, has found itself at the center of domestic political controversy following its announcement of a US$100 billion investment expansion in the United States. The massive investment comes at a sensitive time for Taiwan, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its legislative majority in recent elections, creating a divided government where opposition parties now wield significant influence over major policy decisions

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced plans for a US$100 billion expansion investment in the United States, marking a significant escalation in the global semiconductor industry's geographic diversification. US President Donald Trump welcomed the announcement, emphasizing that unlike TSMC's initial US investments, this expansion would proceed without financial backing from the US government—a notable shift from projects previously subsidized under the CHIPS Act

As AI continues to permeate every facet of life, countries around the world are increasingly focused on the idea of "sovereign AI" and the growing notion of "technological sovereignty". China, for instance, has unveiled plans to restrict American investments in critical Chinese technologies and enterprises. Yet, amid these moves, one thing remains clear: the critical importance of cybersecurity cannot be overlooked

The quest for machines to mirror human capabilities remains a distant horizon, but artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily eroding the gap. A robotics startup from a key East Asian tech hub is at the forefront of this shift, capitalizing on breakthroughs in general AI. A senior executive, steeped in academic rigor, predicts a future where robots adapt fluidly to their environments, unshackled by traditional spatial or dimensional limits

Memory giant Micron recently announced that former TSMC Chairman Mark Liu has joined its board. Micron views this move as a strategic effort to boost its competitive position against SK Hynix and to foster closer collaboration with TSMC

Nvidia's meteoric rise in AI hardware following ChatGPT's debut has been nothing short of remarkable. But as history has shown, no industry leader stays unchallenged forever. As Intel's legendary CEO Andy Grove once put it, "Only the paranoid survive"—because in tech, market leaders are only safe until someone comes along to disrupt them

The founder of TSMC, Morris Chang, and former Intel CEO Craig Barrett, both seasoned veterans in the semiconductor industry, have weighed in on Intel's foundry business. Chang, in his straightforward style, asserted that Intel has yet to master the foundry business, while Barrett, writing recently in Fortune magazine, acknowledged that although Intel still faces challenges in chip design, particularly with the shift toward AI applications, the company is unmistakably regaining ground in manufacturing technology. According to Barrett, Intel's revival is already well underway

In the fourth quarter of 2024, global notebook shipments (excluding detachable models) performed better than expected, decreasing by 1% compared to the previous quarter. In anticipation of tariffs on notebooks imported into the US by the Trump administration, brands and channel retailers increased their inventories in the fourth quarter to prepare. However, the high inventory from the fourth quarter will strongly undermine brand vendors' shipments in the first quarter of 2025, according to DIGITIMES' latest quarterly notebook shipments report

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei recently held a press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House, announcing an additional investment of US$100 billion in the US. Shortly after, he convened another press conference with Taiwan's President Ching-te Lai to clarify TSMC's intentions regarding its investments in the US