IC distributor WPG Holdings expects to post sequential revenue and profit drops in the second quarter of 2022, due to the impact of COVID-induced lockdowns in China on both its supply chain and end-market consumer electronics demand.
Qualcomm will soon roll out an enhanced version of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC built using TSMC's 4nm process technology, according to industry sources. Many are wondering if using TSMC's 4nm process will solve the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1's issues with overheating and performance.
Tejas Networks, an optical, broadband, and data networking products company under the Indian conglomerate Tata is open to more acquisitions and partnerships. Speaking to Digitimes Asia recently, Sanjay Nayak, CEO and MD of Tejas, explained that the goal was to gain access to technologies that would enable the company to reach out to target customers.
LCD display driver IC (DDI) prices, particularly those for handsets, are poised to fall further in the second quarter of 2022, and even handset-use OLED DDI prices are likely to fall slightly, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Renesas Electronics has announced an integrated automotive ECU virtualization platform that enables designers to integrate multiple applications into a single ECU that are safely and securely separated from each other to avoid interference. The solution enables customers to adopt new electrical-electronic (E/E) architectures using MCU-based zone ECUs supporting multiple logical ECUs on one physical ECU, said the vendor.
Brand notebook vendors have cut back orders with suppliers in 2022, particularly orders for Chromebooks, and have also revised downward annual shipment targets, according to sources at IC design houses.
Power management IC suppliers, including those engaged mainly in the consumer electronics field, continue to see their supply remain constrained, according to industry sources.
Wireless telecommunications has escaped the worst effects of the semiconductor shortage, and that semiconductors for cellular infrastructure equipment will continue to dodge significant shortages going forward. In addition, availability of chips for Wi-Fi access points and cellular phones will continue to improve through 2023, Strategy Analytics said in its recent report.
Taiwan's first-tier IC design houses Novatek Microelectronics and Realtek Semiconductor are seeking more capacity support from foundry partners TSMC and UMC to fulfill new orders from new clients that are bolstering their growth despite a decline in demand for consumer chips, according to industry sources.
In 1984, Intel decided to exit the DRAM business, which marked the start of technology diversion between memories and logic IC. In hindsight, Intel's decision made sense. Memories and logic IC are very different in terms of design, manufacturing processes, equipment deployment, and market characteristics. It is common sense that a company should focus on pursuing excellence in one specific direction.
Silicon Motion Technology will not change its trade mark or operating strategy after being acquired by US-based broadband communication chips supplier MaxLinear, as both companies will operate independently after the deal is completed, according to Wallace Kou, president and CEO of the Taiwan-based vendor of NAND flash controller chips.
The global semiconductor shortages have surfaced as early as 2019 when the US government imposed a ban on Huawei's products. The COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 exacerbated the problem as manufacturers have to suspend operations now and then during the peaks of infections.
Image sensor specialist PixArt Imaging expects to post a 10-15% sequential revenue growth in the second quarter, after seeing its sales slip 15.2% sequentially in the first quarter on weaker-than-expected demand.
When the memory industry can no longer leverage Moore's Law to create new value, it has to find new technologies to establish a new business model that can create new economic value.
Display driver IC (DDI) specialist Himax Technologies expects to post a 16-20% sequential decline in second-quarter revenue, with gross margin ranging from 43% to 45%.
ASMedia Technology, an affiliate of Asustek Computer specializing in high-speed transmission chips, has transitioned to 28nm process manufacturing for part of its chip solutions while securing sufficient 55nm process capacity at its foundry partners. ASMedia has also gained support from its ABF substrate partners, according to the chipmaker.
Taiwan-based uPI Semiconductor, an Asustek Computer affiliate specializing in power management ICs, saw its net profits surge 135% on year to NT$401 million (US$13.4 million) in the first quarter of 2022. EPS for the quarter came to NT$5.20.
Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT), a fabless supplier of analog and power management ICs, has expressed caution about its operations in the second quarter of 2022 citing growing uncertainty in demand, but PMIC will remain in tight supply throughout the year as demand commercial notebook and server applications continue to grow.
IC design houses, particularly those specializing in chips for handsets and other mass-market device applications, are under pressure to lower their prices amid sluggish end-market demand. But price competition will be confined to only some chip segments in the short term as foundry costs remain high and overall chip shortages have yet to fully ease, according to industry sources.
In 2014, 3D NAND flash was introduced to the industry with 24 layers, and it co-existed with 2D NAND flash until 2017. 3D NAND flash gradually came to dominate the market with its high-density storage capacity and technologies, and its manufacturing process completely diverged from that of DRAM. The synergy of utilizing the same processes and equipment for the two memory types - DRAM and NAND - was completely gone, and the core of competitive strategies in the memory industry changed.
Networking device assembler Wistron NeWeb expects the shortage of MCUs, MOSFETs, power management ICs (PWM IC) and other chips demanding mature process manufacturing to persist and continue disrupting its output through the first quarter of 2023.
Texas Instruments (TI) has denied recent speculation that claims the analog chip vendor has dissolved its microcontroller R&D team stationed in Shanghai with plans to scale down its workforce in China.
With their bigger peers transitioning to 12-inch wafer manufacturing, Taiwan-based power management IC (PWM IC) suppliers expect more 8-inch fab capacities to be available to satisfy their demand next year.
On the first day of the Intel Vision 2022 event on May 10, Intel revealed an early look at the "Intel On Demandservice," offering to help enterprises meet the needs of evolving workloads, product sustainability, and opportunities to scale systems near the data.
