➀ Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5090 supply is expected to be 'stupidly high' next month as excess yields from TSMC's GB200 wafers are repurposed for consumer-grade GB202 chips.
➁ The demand for data center GB200 chips fell short of Nvidia's projections, leading to the reallocation of wafers.
➂ This change reflects the shift in focus from data center to consumer-grade GPUs, with almost 90% of Nvidia's revenue coming from data center offerings.
➀ A summary table of the full-year 2024 performance is provided, including revenue, year-over-year growth, and relevant notes for each company.
➁ TSMC, the world's leading foundry, has reported exceptional growth, though specific Q4 figures are not detailed.
➀ TSMC's board approved the 2024 employee performance bonus and salary (dividend) totaling 140.59 billion New Taiwan Dollars (about 31.2 billion RMB);
➁ TSMC's 2024 annual revenue is about 2.894 trillion New Taiwan Dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 33.9%, and a net profit after tax of 1.1732 trillion New Taiwan Dollars;
➂ TSMC provides services to most leading chip developers, including Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.
➀ TSMC faces challenges due to Trump's tariffs and the potential for additional taxes from the US government.
➁ The Taiwanese semiconductor industry is under pressure to establish more fabs in the US.
➂ Taiwanese fabs like TSMC and United Microelectronics Corporation are struggling with the dual pressures of US tariffs and competition from Chinese mainland fabs.
➃ Taiwanese fabless companies like MediaTek are adapting to geopolitical risks and exploring new markets.
➄ South Korea's semiconductor industry is facing challenges from Chinese competitors and US tariffs.
➅ Both Taiwan and South Korea are seeking a balance between technological innovation and supply chain security.
➀ Broadcom and TSMC are considering a deal with Intel to split the company, with Broadcom interested in Intel's chip design business and TSMC focusing on Intel's factories.
➁ Broadcom has been closely monitoring Intel's chip design and marketing business and has held informal discussions with advisors, but this could only happen if a partner is found for Intel's manufacturing business.
➂ The potential transactions, which were unimaginable before Intel's recent troubles, could result in the disintegration of Intel.
➀ TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei confirmed no plans to acquire Intel's US semiconductor facilities despite rumors.
➁ Wei emphasized that Intel is a good customer and sends significant business to TSMC.
➂ The Trump administration's stance on foreign ownership of US chip factories and potential support for a foreign company operating Intel's facilities remain unclear.
➀ Qualcomm is facing multiple competitive pressures from MediaTek's rising share and NVIDIA's entry in the smartphone chip market.
➁ In the server CPU market, Arm's cross-industry competition is squeezing Qualcomm's market share.
➂ In the automotive cabin chip field, MediaTek and Intel's strong performance pose a threat to Qualcomm.
➃ TSMC's advanced manufacturing process technology supports chip design companies and challenges Qualcomm.
➄ Qualcomm's CFO expects the overall market to remain flat or grow in single digits by 2025.
➅ Qualcomm's CEO emphasizes the commitment to reaching a non-smartphone business revenue target of $22 billion by fiscal year 2029.
➀ TSMC plans to start construction of its third factory in Arizona by mid-2025, a year ahead of schedule.
➁ The new CoWoS advanced packaging plant in the US is also under consideration.
➂ This expansion is part of TSMC's strategy to increase its presence in the US amidst concerns over foreign control of the semiconductor industry.
➀ NVIDIA的GeForce RTX 5090显卡需求旺盛，但库存有限；
➁ 为了应对需求，NVIDIA利用多余的TSMC产能生产更多的RTX 50系列GPU；
➂ 预计RTX 5090的供应量将显著增加，影响黄牛；
➃ 即将推出的产品包括RTX 5070 Ti、RTX 5070和RTX 5060。
➀ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is considering acquiring a majority stake in Intel's factories, following a request from the Trump administration to promote US manufacturing and maintain technological leadership.
➁ The negotiation is in the early stages, and the specific structure of potential collaboration has not been determined yet.
➂ The arrangement may involve allowing major US chip design companies to invest and securing support from the US government.
➀ Arm计划推出其首款自研芯片，可能是一款服务器CPU芯片，将由台积电生产；
➁ 报道称，Arm已将Meta作为其首个客户之一，计划最早于今年夏天推出这款芯片；
➂ Arm原本设计半导体结构并将其设计许可给苹果、英伟达等公司，现在将带着自己的服务器CPU进入市场。
➀ The UK Space Agency backs Excelerate for a multi-beam satellite antenna project;
➁ DARPA NOM4D program to test in-space manufacturing;
➂ PositronAI raises $23.5m for FPGA-based AI inference ICs;
➃ OpenAI to tape-out its first chip on TSMC 3nm;
➄ NXP acquires Kinara, an NPU specialist.
➀ Silicon Creations successfully tape-outs a chip on the TSMC N2P process;
➁ The chip includes a novel temperature sensor design;
➂ The expanded portfolio of clocking IP supports next-generation semiconductor products.
➀ OpenAI plans to tape-out its first chip on TSMC's 3nm process later this year;
➁ The chip is designed for both training and inference and is being developed by an in-house team;
➂ The objective is to reduce dependency on Nvidia's processors, which are expensive and in high demand.
➀ The approved IC design companies and semiconductor packaging and testing companies are mainly from Europe, the United States, and Taiwan, indicating a clear intention to decouple technology. It is necessary to build a complete and independent domestic electronic information industry chain.
➁ The requirement for sensitive chip outsourcing and the use of designated packaging and testing companies show that packaging and testing will be the next target of US suppression. It is necessary to enhance wafer manufacturing and packaging and testing capabilities, ensuring close cooperation among design, manufacturing, and packaging and testing companies.
➂ The safety of nodes above 16/14nm, such as 20nm and 28nm, will not be a concern as long as a complete and independent industry chain is formed.
➃ It is necessary to ensure the sufficient supply of 16/14nm process technology as soon as possible to avoid affecting the upgrade of many products.
➄ Short-term focus on technology optimization and capacity expansion of mature processes such as 28nm, and medium to long-term breakthroughs in special processes such as automotive chips and the third generation of semiconductor. In addition, accelerate the research and development of new materials and new architectures, such as SiC/GaN, computing-in-memory chips, and silicon photonics chips.
➀ The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued new export control regulations (EAR) targeting China, requiring more due diligence procedures for chips manufactured using advanced processes of 16/14 nanometers or below.
➁ The new export control regulations, which were announced 15 days before their formal publication, have already taken effect and are impacting the production and delivery of advanced process chips for some Chinese chip manufacturers.
➂ TSMC and other wafer fabs on the whitelist will not be restricted when manufacturing advanced process chips for chip design companies on the whitelist. Chip design companies not on the whitelist must apply to the U.S. Department of Commerce or have their final packaging and testing done byAT companies on the whitelist.
➀ TSMC, Taiwan's leading semiconductor manufacturer, is reportedly planning a new 1-nanometer fabrication plant in Tainan's Shalun area;
➁ The massive facility, a Giga-Fab, is capable of housing six 12-inch wafer fabs;
➂ It aims to leverage the existing advanced manufacturing cluster in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) and connects strategically to the science park.
➀ TSMC is planning to increase the price of its most advanced semiconductor wafers by up to 15% this year.
➁ The increase is attributed to rising production costs and potential U.S. tariffs.
➂ The price hike could further deviate the final product from the Moore's Law curve.
➃ TSMC is expected to start raising prices from the 7nm node, with the cost of a wafer approximately $10,000.
➄ The company's most privileged client, Apple, currently pays $18,000 per 3nm wafer.
➅ The new tariffs could push the price of 3nm wafers up to $20,000 to $23,000 per wafer.
➆ Higher wafer prices have already led to higher equipment prices, but performance improvements have been less impressive.
➇ The recent iPhone chip did not significantly outperform its predecessor, and the Nvidia RTX 50 series is one of the most disappointing graphics cards in recent years.
➈ TSMC plans to start producing 4nm chips in Arizona this year and aims to produce 3nm and 2nm nodes in the next decade.
➉ There are rumors that TSMC will build a 1nm super wafer factory in Tainan, Taiwan.
➀ The global wafer foundry industry is expected to grow by 20% this year, driven by the surge in demand for advanced semiconductor processes due to the AI boom.
➁ TSMC, the leading wafer foundry company, is expected to outperform the industry average growth rate.
➂ TSMC's stock price rebounded and reached over 28 trillion New Taiwan Dollars, with revenue growth projected to be between 24% and 26% in 2025.
➃ The global semiconductor revenue is forecasted to grow by 13.4% this year, reaching a peak of $714 billion.
➄ AI applications are driving the demand for AI/HPC chips and storage, with high bandwidth memory (HBM) demand particularly strong.
➅ Despite the growth potential, geopolitical and trade tariff factors may pose negative impacts on the semiconductor industry.
➀ Intel has adopted a 'get real' approach to its product roadmap, scrapping Falcon Shores and slowing down the introduction of 18A.
➁ Analyst Stacy Rasgon believes Intel's AI accelerator story is 'dead'.
➂ Intel is considering moving more products to foundry, which may reduce margins.
