With the Iran conflict once again in full swing and demand for AI chips booming, industry sources expect that semiconductor raw material prices will only increase. Earlier this month, China created some turmoil in the semiconductor manufacturing raw materials supply chain when it announced that it would suspend Helium exports due to the supply chain turmoil. While China is not a key Helium exporter in terms of capacity, its role nevertheless could create trouble down the road if there is further disruption. Semiconductor Manufacturing Raw Materials Providers Raise Prices As Demand, Supply Dynamics Bite The complexity of semiconductor fabrication, which […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/hydrofluoric-acid-prices-climb-as-ai-chip-demand-outpaces-a-strained-semiconductor-materials-supply/

Korean chip giant Samsung is reportedly considering outsourcing orders to design a portion of Google's Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) AI chips. Samsung is believed to be Google's manufacturing partner for the TPU chip's input/output (I/O) die. While the TPU's compute tile is expected to be manufactured by TSMC, the part on which the tile will be connected, called the I/O, is said to be Samsung's responsibility. For the I/O, Samsung is considering outsourcing the back-end design for the chip in order to ensure that Google's design is fit for its manufacturing facilities, says the Korean press. Several Korean Firms in […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-reportedly-outsources-googles-tpu-i-o-late-stage-design-says-report/

A former TSMC executive, suspected of taking the firm's trade secrets to Intel, has had his records on Taiwan's research institute's body removed, according to reports in the local media. The executive, Wei-Jen Lo, was TSMC's senior vice president for corporate strategy and development and he played a role in helping the firm mass produce its 5-nanometer, 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer chip manufacturing process technologies. Authorities began investigating Lo last year in November after he left TSMC following allegations that the former executive took proprietary company data to Intel. Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Removes Former TSMC Executive's Page Amidst […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/taiwan-erases-tsmc-executive-from-itri-website-after-he-joined-intel-amid-trade-secret-allegations/

NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang, has arrived in Japan and will be holding key meetings with robotics partners to advance the Physical AI era ahead. Jensen Huang Arrives In The Birthplace of Humanoid Robots To Kickstart The Physical AI Era AI is a multi-domain market, and while Agentic AI is all the buzz these days, there's one other key market that is growing at a rapid pace with the evolution of AI: Physical AI. Robots are to Physical AI what humans are to Agentic AI. And NVIDIA has a vast robotics platform ready for the future. It is mainly powered by […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/jensen-huang-lands-in-japan-the-birthplace-of-humanoid-robots-as-nvidia-kickstarts-physical-ai-era/

China's DFSX is working on fueling its domestic AI supply chain with next-gen 3.5D "Infinity Chiplet" architectures & 3D DRAM technologies. DFSX Is Working on China's First DF1000 AI Accelerator With 3D DRAM Technology, Also Unveils 3.5D+ Packaging DFSX recently hosted a presentation where they announced China's first 3D AI chip that is built entirely using China's domestic supply chain. There is a lot to unpack here, but the key product is the DF1000, which is a software-defined near-in-memory computing AI accelerator that will be used by domestic AI and tech firms. DF1000 - China's First 3D DRAM-Powered AI Accelerator […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/china-develops-first-3-5d-infinity-chiplet-3d-dram-tech-as-it-tackles-external-constraints/

ASML has confirmed that Intel is leveraging its High NA EUV technology to produce its Panther Lake chips on its most advanced 18A process node. ASML's High NA EUV Enters High-Volume Logic Production With Intel's "18A" Panther Lake Chips Today, ASML announced that its first High NA EUV "EXE" equipment has been installed at Intel Foundry and is being used to make the first Panther Lake 18A products. The first of these High NA EUV lithography machines was installed at Hillsboro, Oregon, R&D site back in 2024, making Intel the first company to install and pass acceptance testing of the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-leverages-asml-high-na-euv-technology-to-produce-18a-panther-lake-chips/

In a first-of-its-kind move, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state-level moratorium on data center construction. Hochul's decision follows growing concerns about the resource-intensive computing centers that are necessary to power what is being dubbed the next industrial revolution. Most AI data centers are powered by NVIDIA Corporation's GPUs, with the average data center requiring millions of gallons of water daily to perform efficiently. New York State Data Center Construction To Be Paused In Moratorium Being Signed Tomorrow In her statement, Governor Hochul outlined that the resource-intensive nature of data centers was at the center of her […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/hochuls-data-center-moratorium-lands-as-130-billion-in-projects-stalled-nationwide-in-a-single-quarter/

Intel has reportedly secured some big wins with its 18A, 14A, and EMIB process / advanced packaging technologies, signaling massive interest in its Foundry business. Tech Heavyweights Are Lining Up To See What Intel Foundry Has To Offer As 18A, 14A & EMIB Technologies See Heightened Interest TSMC has so far been the only semiconductor manufacturer to offer bleeding-edge processes and packaging technology, but Intel has quickly emerged as a fierce competitor. Intel has only launched its 18A node, which is already achieving volume ramp, and is working towards its more advanced 18A-P (In Risk Production) and 14A nodes (Risk […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-foundry-snags-amd-nvidia-openai-as-design-wins-on-18a-14a-nodes/

NVIDIA's H200 AI GPUs are finally shipping to China, as reported by U.S. officials, marking the return of the banned chip. China Softens Its Position on NVIDIA GPUs As First H200 Shipments Now Headed To Chinese AI Firms The NVIDIA Hopper story in China has been a roller coaster ride so far. When Hopper was launched, US export restrictions for the Chinese market were in full swing. These pushed NVIDIA to release an export-compliant variant called the H20 for China, which ended up being severely cut down, but still a viable option against what China's domestic chipmakers had to offer. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/u-s-officials-confirm-first-nvidia-h200-ai-gpu-shipments-to-china/

With the AI race in full swing, Samsung Foundry has reportedly secured a contract to manufacture Anthropic's AI chips. Anthropic has slowly shaped up to be one of the most important players in the AI industry courtesy of its advanced AI models. As the AI semiconductor sector remains highly concentrated, with the bulk of chips designed and sold by NVIDIA, major players such as Google, OpenAI and Amazon are designing custom chips. Samsung's deal with Anthropic is expected to allow the foundry business to return to growth, say the sources, and allow it to reverse a deficit. Anthropic to Purportedly […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-reportedly-lands-anthropic-as-foundry-customer-looking-to-reverse-its-chip-deficit-with-2nm-ai-orders/

NVIDIA Corporation is taking strict action to ensure that its AI GPUs only land in the hands of the right customers, reports the Financial Times. The action is to ensure that its chips do not reach China, and it follows increasing scrutiny by Taiwanese authorities on firms allegedly involved in shipping the chips to the Asian country. Previous reports have suggested that the Chinese government is interested in granting exemptions to some local firms to buy NVIDIA chips, even as firms such as Huawei claim to be able to achieve parity with Western technology in the future. NVIDIA Is Working […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nvidia-teams-with-us-government-to-slam-shut-the-backdoor-feeding-banned-ai-chips-into-china/

Korean memory gains SK hynix is considering buying South Korean government bonds, according to a senior official. The report follows earlier news that had claimed that the memory company would bring back a portion of the funds generated through its American Depository Receipt (ADR) listing last week to its home country in order to invest in memory chip manufacturing facilities. The executive's comments come as the firm is expected to experience slower high bandwidth memory (HBM) price growth stemming from long-term supply agreements. SK hynix is Open to Shifting Some of Its Capital Into Korean Government Debt, Says Report SK […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/sk-hynix-weighs-buying-south-korean-government-bonds-as-hbm-price-surge-shows-signs-of-cooling/

Intel has invested €5 billion at its Ireland Fab34 to expand manufacturing of its "Intel 3" tech that will be used in Xeon 6 & Next-Gen Xeon chips. Intel's Key Data Center Fab In Ireland Gets €5 Billion Invested Towards Manufacturing, Will Be Used To Scale "Intel 3" For Xeon 6 & Next-Gen Xeon CPUs Today, Intel is announcing a €5 billion investment at its Leixlip campus, which is based in Ireland. This investment is part of a broader manufacturing expansion plan for the European region. The investment comes as the need for AI and high-performance chips is growing at […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-pours-5-billion-in-ireland-scaling-intel-3-xeon-6-and-diamond-rapids-production/

Intel has unveiled its latest SoCs, codenamed Starfire, that offer space-grade survivability and are based on the 18A process technology. Intel Rolls Out Space-Grade "Starfire" Chips With 8 Cores, 18A Tech, & 10+ Years of Lifetime Space-grade platforms require extra engineering as they are built to withstand various aspects of space, such as exposure to radiation and extreme temperatures. Plus, these chips need to offer utmost levels of stability as space systems need to retain a steady operation throughout their life-cycle. As such, Intel has new space-grade chips ready for the market. Codenamed Starfire, the SoCs are manufactured in the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-brings-18a-silicon-to-orbit-with-starfire-space-grade-soc/

TSMC is facing a surge in AI chip orders using its advanced packaging technology, such as CoWoS, but competitors such as Intel are benefiting as the Taiwanese semiconductor powerhouse is unable to keep up with demand. Intel & Other Advanced Packaging Chip Manufacturers See Surge In Orders From TSMC Customers As CoWoS Unable To Meet Industry Demand AI and HPC chip demand has reached an unprecedented level, and the chips that are being built are based on some of the most advanced packaging technologies that the world has ever seen. Leading this advanced packaging race is none other than TSMC, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/tsmc-cant-keep-up-with-cowos-demand-advanced-packaging-orders-spilling-over-to-intel-rival-fabs/

SK Hynix CEO has warned that memory shortages will be at their worst in 2027 as it celebrates its trading debut on Nasdaq in Times Square. Memory Supply Won't See Any Sign of Relief Beyond 2030 As SK Hynix Signals 2027 To Be The Worst Year In Terms of Shortages Well, memory shortages have gripped all aspects of the tech industry, and it seems to have become the norm these days. As the supply crunch continues, the CEO of SK Hynix, one of the three largest DRAM producers, has said that things are about to get much worse for the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/sk-hynix-ceo-warns-2027-memory-worst-year-ever-shortages-set-to-outlast-the-decade/

In a surprising move, China has decided to restrict global helium supplies. The export ban appears to be blanket, but given China's limited market share of the global helium industry, it is unlikely to cause significant disruption in the semiconductor fabrication industry. Estimates from the US Geological Survey suggest that the US is the world's leading helium producer and is followed by Qatar, Russia, Algeria, and Canada. China's Helium Export Ban Could Create Tightness In Global Semiconductor Fabrication Industry Helium is used in several key phases of semiconductor fabrication. These include different categories of deposition, cooling the wafers, and etching. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-warned-helium-could-choke-ai-chips-in-june-and-chinas-export-ban-might-prove-him-right/