➀ Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla has signed a $16.5 billion AI chip deal with Samsung;

➁ The deal involves Samsung's new Texas fab site supplying AI6 chips for Tesla's electric vehicles;

➂ The agreement is a strategic win for Samsung, as it will be dedicated to making Tesla's next-generation AI6 chips.

➀ Texas Instruments has committed to investing over $60 billion to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity, marking the largest-ever investment in foundational semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. history.

➁ The investment will support over 60,000 jobs at new manufacturing sites in Texas and Utah.

➂ Texas Instruments plans to build seven large-scale fabs, including two new facilities in Texas, with the first new fab, SM1, scheduled to begin production this year.

➀ The latest CHIIPS podcast episode discusses the UK's semiconductor strategy with Dr. Andy Sellars (Compound Semiconductor Catapult) and Rupert Baines (Cambridge Tech Week 2025 chair);

➁ Both experts share insights on semiconductor innovation, UKTIN's role, and silicon photonics developments at the University of Southampton;

➂ The series highlights key electronics industry trends and future challenges through interviews with global leaders.

➀ Chip smugglers have found creative ways to sneak semiconductors into China, such as hiding them with live lobsters, inside fake baby bumps, and other means designed to evade customs and import/export restrictions.

➁ A U.S. lawmaker is pushing for a bill to require NVIDIA and other chip companies to equip their semiconductors with tracking technology.

➂ The bill aims to track chips more generally, allowing NVIDIA and the U.S. government to determine if advanced AI semiconductors are finding their way to China, and also introduces a kill switch to prevent chips from booting if they evade export controls.

➀ Huawei is constructing an advanced chip production line in Shenzhen as part of a network of semiconductor facilities aimed at reducing China's reliance on foreign technology.

➁ The facilities, located in Guanlan, are part of a broader effort by Huawei to become a semiconductor leader and challenge the US in technology development.

➂ The sites are operated by Huawei, SiCarrier, and SwaySure, with financial backing from the Shenzhen government and support from local engineering teams.

➀ South Korea's exports increased by 3.7% in April, marking the third consecutive month of growth.

➁ Exports to the U.S. decreased by 6.8% due to heavy tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

➂ Semiconductor exports jumped 17.2% to reach $11.7 billion, the highest figure for any April.

➀ President Trump and CC Wei announced a $100 billion investment by TSMC in Arizona, bringing the total investment to $165 billion;

➁ The investment is expected to create thousands of high-paying jobs and support the progress of AI and smartphones;

➂ TSMC plans to build three more fabs and two more packaging plants in Arizona.

➀ Samsung and SK Hynix are competing to supply HBM4 to Broadcom, a rising competitor against NVIDIA.

➁ SK Hynix has received a request from Broadcom for a large supply of custom HBM4.

➂ Samsung is also in discussions with Broadcom about supplying HBM4.

➀ The US-China tension is fostering a tech hub in Southeast Asia with over $100 billion in foreign direct investment in Malaysia and Vietnam.

➁ The rise is driven by multinational corporations, governments, and startups developing AI and establishing chip manufacturing centers.

➂ Malaysia is expanding its chip manufacturing capacity and attracting foreign investment, aiming to become a high-income country.

➃ Vietnam's Bac Ninh province is becoming a high-tech industrial center with over 37,000 new jobs created.

➄ China's tech firms are setting up operations in Vietnam to avoid trade restrictions and access advanced chips.

➅ Singapore's Jurong district is becoming a hub for AI and data centers, with significant investments from Nvidia and Microsoft.

➀ TSMC stopped shipping chips to a specific customer in mid-October after discovering the chips were used in Huawei products;

➁ It is unclear whether the customer represents Huawei and where its headquarters are located;

➂ The incident provides new clues to recent reports, including those from The Information, which claimed the US recently contacted TSMC about producing chips for a blacklisted Chinese company;

➃ Huawei has relied on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) for its chip production, including the 7-nanometer chips used in its smartphones last August;

➄ TSMC stopped shipping chips to Huawei after September 15, 2020, and reiterated this point when asked about TechInsights' report;

➅ TSMC and Huawei representatives refused to comment on the reports;

➆ The US Department of Commerce acknowledged that there may have been violations of US export control regulations;

➇ TSMC stated that it is a law-abiding company committed to complying with all applicable regulations, including export control regulations;

➈ Huawei stated that it has not produced any chips through TSMC since the implementation of the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) in 2020;

➉ Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs stated that Taiwan respects the US' export control measures and will communicate fully with TSMC;

➊ The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) had a meeting with TSMC executives in October to discuss supply chain issues, including whether third-party distributors can provide restricted technology to China.

➀ TSMC's CoWoS capacity will double in 2024 and 2025, but demand will continue to exceed supply;

➁ The CoWoS expansion wave is expected to extend into 2026, benefiting equipment suppliers for the next two to three years;

➂ Advanced packaging currently accounts for 7-9% of TSMC's revenue, with expected growth to outpace the company's average over the next five years;

➃ TSMC's CoWoS monthly production capacity is expected to reach 35,000 to 40,000 wafers this year, and surge to 80,000 wafers per month next year;

➄ Strong demand from major AI customers is driving capacity needs, potentially reaching 140,000 to 150,000 wafers per month by 2026.