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February 15
- Jim Keller's Journey: From DEC to Apple, AMD, Tesla, and Now Tenstorrent AI
➀ Jim Keller discusses his early work at DEC and AMD, focusing on the K8 architecture and his contributions to x86-64 and HyperTransport.
➁ Keller's experience at startup SiByte, including the development of network processors and his involvement with Andy Bechtolsheim and Cisco.
➂ His transition to Broadcom and the challenges of working in a larger company like Intel, where he learned about methodology and abstraction layers in computer design.
➃ Keller's time at P.A. Semi and his role in designing PowerPC processors, leading to the acquisition by Apple.
➄ His journey at Apple, from the first iPhone chip to the A-series processors, and the focus on performance and power efficiency.
➅ His return to AMD and the development of the Zen architecture, addressing the company's challenges and working with Global Foundries and TSMC.
➆ His move to Tesla and the development of the Hardware 3 chip for autonomous driving, followed by his transition to Intel and the challenges of managing a large engineering team.
➇ His current role at Tenstorrent AI, focusing on AI processors and software, and the company's mission to build a general-purpose computing platform.
- Siemens Partners with Alphawave to Accelerate Customer Time-to-Market with Advanced Semiconductor IP
➀ Siemens Digital Industries Software announces an exclusive OEM agreement with Alphaw Semi to market its high-speed interconnect silicon IP product portfolio through its sales channels.
➁ The agreement includes Alphawave Semi's leading IP platform for connectivity and memory protocols such as Ethernet, PCIe, CXL, HBM, and UCIeDie-to-Die).
➂ The collaboration will provide comprehensive Spec to Silicon Solutions by leveraging the combined capabilities and strengths of both companies.
- January DRAM Prices Continue to Fall, Hit Largest Decline in Nearly 2 Years
➀ Due to weak demand for PC, smartphones, and other terminal products, as well as Chinese buyers expanding the use of domestic DRAM, global DRAM demand has slowed down, and the DRAM price in January 2023 fell by 6% month-on-month.
➁ The wholesale price of DDR4 8Gb products in January 2025 was about $1.75 per unit, and the price of smaller capacity 4Gb products was about $1.34 per unit, both down 6% from the previous month, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. The 8Gb products saw the largest decline in 10 months (since March 2023), and the 4Gb products saw the largest decline in 9 months (since April 2023).
➂ DRAM demand is about 50% from PCs and servers, and about 35% from smartphones. The top three DRAM manufacturers in the world are Samsung of South Korea, SK Hynix, and Micron of the United States, followed by Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics of Taiwan. In these companies' revenue, the market share in China is estimated to be 20-40%. However, with the continuous rise of Chinese domestic DRAM chip manufacturer Changxin Storage, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly adopting domestic DRAM.
- Hua Hong Semiconductor Reports Net Profit of $58.14 Million in 2024, Down 79.25% Year-on-Year
➀ Hua Hong Semiconductor reported its unaudited fourth quarter 2024 financial results, with sales revenue of $539.2 million, up 18.4% year-on-year and 2.4% sequentially;
➁ The company's gross margin for the quarter was 11.4%, up 7.4 percentage points year-on-year;
➂ Net profit after parent company was a loss of $25.2 million, compared to a profit of $35.4 million and $44.8 million in the same period last year and the previous quarter, respectively;
➃ The loss in the fourth quarter was mainly due to foreign exchange losses, while the same period last year and the previous quarter were foreign exchange gains;
➄ Revenue from the Chinese region increased by 23% year-on-year, accounting for 83.7% of total revenue;
➅ The consumer electronics sector continued to be the largest terminal business segment, contributing $344.6 million in sales revenue, accounting for 63.9% of the total.
- Trump Proposes Changes to Chip Bill Subsidy Terms, Postponing Payments or Renegotiating
➀ The Trump administration is seeking to renegotiate the US Chip and Science Act's subsidy policy and hints at delaying the upcoming subsidy payments.
➁ The review of these projects by the Trump administration is planned to evaluate and change some transactions after the requirements are evaluated.
➂ Concerns about the Chip Bill's 39 billion USD subsidy include requirements such as using union labor to build factories and assisting with affordable childcare for factory workers.
- Application Materials Halts Maintenance Services for Some Chinese Customers, Anticipating $400 Million Loss!
➀ Application Materials reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, with revenue of $7.17 billion, up 7% year-over-year;
➁ The company anticipates a $4 billion revenue loss in fiscal 2025 due to new U.S. export control policies;
➂ Application Materials had to stop providing maintenance services for some Chinese customers' equipment, leading to a significant revenue loss in the second quarter.
- The Battle for Tech Supremacy: Global Supply Chain Evolution and the Future of Robotics
➀ The global supply chain is complex, with the iPhone as a typical example, involving components from 40 different countries.
➁ The economic value of a product like the iPhone is not solely attributed to China, despite its assembly in the country.
➂ The political and economic pressures in the US have led to a shift in public opinion against offshoring manufacturing.
➃ China is making significant strides in robotics, with companies like Unitree leading the charge.
➄ The potential of biotechnology in areas like life extension and gene editing is discussed.
➅ Marc Henrich discusses the importance of understanding cultural differences in the context of global politics.
February 14
- Domestic Advanced Bonding Equipment Emerges as a Dark Horse
➀ Advanced bonding equipment is a core part of the global semiconductor industry, with its technological level and market share directly affecting a country's competitiveness in the semiconductor field.
➁ For a long time, this market has been monopolized by international giants like Austria's EVG, leading to high equipment procurement costs and risks of technical blockade and supply chain disruption for domestic semiconductor companies.
➂ With the intensification of global semiconductor industry competition, the independent research and development and domestic substitution of advanced bonding equipment have become an urgent strategic need. In this context, domestic companies like Qinghe Jingyuan are increasing their R&D investment to achieve technological breakthroughs and shoulder the responsibility of domestic substitution.
- TSMC's 2nm Density Higher, But Intel 18A Performance Stronger?
➀ TechInsights and SemiWiki revealed key details about Intel's 18A (1.8nm) and TSMC's N2 (2nm) process technologies at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).
➁ Intel 18A offers higher performance, while TSMC N2 may provide higher transistor density.
➂ TSMC N2 can reduce power consumption by 24% to 35% compared to the previous generation, while Intel 18A has the highest performance among 2nm process technologies.
➃ TSMC's N2 has a higher density of high-density logic unit transistors, with a density of 313 MTx/mm2, followed by Intel with 238 MTx/mm2 and Samsung with 231 Mtx/mm2.
➄ TSMC's N2 is expected to have an average yield rate of >80% for 256Mb SRAM arrays, with a peak yield rate of >90%.
➅ Intel 18A is scheduled to enter mass production in mid-2025, while TSMC's N2 is planned for late 2025.
- Arm Announces Its Entry into Server CPU Market, Competing with Qualcomm and NVIDIA
➀ Arm, the UK-based semiconductor IP giant under Softbank Group, is planning to shift its business focus from IP supplier to chip development, with its first internally developed chip set to be launched this summer Meta, an American tech giant, will be one of its first customers.
➁ Arm is rumored to be competing with its major customers, Qualcomm and NVIDIA. Arm is developing a data center server CPU that can be customized for clients like Meta, with production outsourced to manufacturers like TSMC.
➃ Arm has already started to compete with Qualcomm for orders. Qualcomm had negotiated with Meta to provide a data center CPU based on the Arm architecture, but Arm has won at least some of the business.
- Analog Devices Q4 Revenue Down 14.6% Year-Over-Year, Focuses on Streamlining Operations in 2025
➀ Analog Devices reported revenue of $1.7225 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, a 14.6% decrease from the same period last year;
➁ The revenue decline can be attributed to sustained market downturn and decreased demand in major business segments;
➂ For the full year of 2024, Analog Devices' revenue decreased to $7.0823 billion, a 14.2% decrease from 2023;
➃ CEO Hassane El-Khoury stated that the company is well-prepared to 'cope with long-term fluctuations' and will streamline operations in 2025.
- China's Largest Chip IPO Accelerates in 2025!
➀ Zhiyuan Xunrui, as a leading global chip enterprise, achieved remarkable sales of 14.5 billion yuan in 2024, delivering 1.6 billion chips and holding a 13% global market share in mobile chips.
➁ The company has completed a 6 billion yuan equity financing over a year, with an additional 2 billion yuan from Yuanhe Puhua.
➂ The financing will boost the company's growth and position it as a potential candidate for China's largest chip IPO.
February 13
- Nvidia's Resilience Despite Challenges
➀ A blog post titled 'The Short Case for Nvidia Stock' gained over 500,000 views in 24 hours, despite the author not being a prominent figure in the investment community.
➁ The post linked DeepSeek's technical details to Nvidia's valuation, sparking a debate on Nvidia's future.
➂ Despite a significant drop in Nvidia's stock value, investors like Cathie Wood and Aswath Damodaran remain optimistic, highlighting the company's strengths and the evolving AI market.
➃ The article discusses the challenges Nvidia faces, such as in the AI chip market and the impact of DeepSeek's technology.
➄ It also examines Nvidia's competitive advantages, including cost-effectiveness and system architecture.
- Latest Semiconductor Key Terminal Market Sales and Industry Analysis | January 2025
➀ China's AI startup DeepSeek sees strong growth, with the global AI industry landscape continuing to evolve, and China's AI industry chain accelerating breakthroughs in 2025.
➁ In December, China's consumer electronics experienced fluctuations, with strong growth in home appliances, industry, energy storage, and new energy vehicles, while communication equipment remained低迷.
➂ In December, China's smartphone production decreased by 1.0% year-on-year to 130 million units.
➃ In December, China's new energy vehicle production and sales reached 1.647 million and 1.596 million units, respectively, with year-on-year growth of 43.2% and .0%, leading global electric vehicle growth.
➄ In December, China's industrial robot production increased by 36.7% year-on-year to 71,400 sets, benefiting from the obvious growth of domestic substitution.
➅ In December, China's photovoltaic battery production reached 67.0GW, with a year-on-year growth of 20.7%.
➆ In December, China's mobile communication base station equipment production decreased by 16.8% year-on-year to 590,000 sets.
➇ In December, China's TV production increased by 13.4% year-on-year to 19.671 million sets.
➈ In December, China's air conditioner production increased by12.9% year-on-year to 23.695 million units.
- Tianyue Advanced Announces 8-inch SiC Project Fundraising
➀ Tianyue Advanced has disclosed new details about its Hong Kong IPO plan, including the fundraising details for the 8-inch SiC project.
➁ The company plans to issue up to 15% of its H shares for fundraising, with the funds to be used for expanding production capacity and technological research.
➂ Tianyue Advanced's financial performance shows a strong growth trend, laying a solid foundation for its IPO plan.
➃ The company has achieved significant technical breakthroughs in the 8-inch SiC substrate field, pushing forward the industrial upgrade and market expansion.
- Recent Progress in Thick Silicon AWG
➀ A UWB, 0 to L band, polarization-insensitive (PI) 1×12 100GHz channel spacing arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) was designed and implemented a 3µm insulator on silicon (SOI) platform by VTT, with insertion losses ranging from -0.82 dB to -1.52 dB.
➁ A 3µm thick silicon waveguide has ultra-low propagation loss (0.1 dB/cm) and low birefringence over a wide wavelength range (1.2µm to 4µm).
➂ A 40-channel 100GHz spacing (de-mux/mux) multiplexer based on cascaded PEG was designed and manufactured on a 3µm SOI platform, with low crosstalk and low insertion loss.
February 12
- DeepSeek Just the Appetizer, LPU the King Card
➀ The rise of artificial intelligence has led to significant technological advancements in the industry, with DeepSeek and LPU standing out.
➁ LPU, designed for language processing tasks, offers a new path in the AI field with its innovative architecture, impressive performance, and low cost.
➂ Groq's LPU, compared to GPT-4, shows a 18x faster processing speed and a 10x performance advantage over NVIDIA's GPU.
➃ Chinese companies like Wuwen Xingqiong are also investing in LPU technology.
➄ DeepSeek's release of DeepSeek-R1 model showcases its competitive edge in the AI field with its performance and cost advantages.
➅ The combination of DeepSeek and LPU is expected to revolutionize AI computing.
- China's Supercomputing Announces Major Move, OpenAI Speaks Out
➀ The National Supercomputing Internet Platform announced the 'AI Ecosystem Partner Acceleration Program', offering free 3-month use of DeepSeek API and a 10 million card-hour computing power pool.
➁ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized that the company does not sell and expressed willingness to acquire Twitter if Musk is willing to talk.
➂ Altman also expressed willingness to cooperate with China in the field of artificial intelligence and said it is very important.
- Major MCU Manufacturers Struggling
➀ In the backdrop of the "chip shortage" crisis from 2020-2022, the MCU market experienced rapid expansion, leading to profits for major manufacturers.
➁ However, the market has since faced challenges such as "cost reduction, inventory management, and localization".
➂ Major MCU manufacturers like Microchip, STMicroelectronics, and NXP have reported declining revenues and profits, reflecting a tough market environment.
➃ These companies are adjusting strategies, focusing on technology innovation, and seeking new growth points to overcome the current difficulties.
- Recent Progress in Silicon AWG
➀ The article discusses the recent advancements in silicon arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) focusing on channel count and crosstalk balance.
➁ It highlights the design and fabrication of a 12x100GHz AWG with insertion loss and crosstalk of less than 0.82 dB and -30 dB, respectively.
➂ The article also mentions the comparison of performance with previous siliconG papers, noting the best overall performance in terms of crosstalk, insertion loss, and channel uniformityp>
- Apple Drops DeepSeek, Partners with Alibaba for AI Features on iPhone
➀ Apple has partnered with Alibaba to provide AI features for the domestic version of iPhone users, according to The Information.
➁ The two companies have jointly developed AI features for domestic use that have been submitted for review by domestic authorities.
➂ Apple tested various AI models from Chinese developers starting in2023 and initially chose Baidu as the main partner, but the cooperation was canceled due to Baidu's failure to meet Apple's standards.
February 11
- SemiCon China Reaches $8 Billion Revenue High in 2024
➀ SMIC reported $22.073 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, a 1.7% increase from the previous quarter;
➁ The company's gross profit was $4.99 billion, with a gross margin of 22.6%;
➂ For the full year 2024, SMIC's revenue was $80.299 billion, a 27% increase year-over-year;
➃ The company's operating profit was $4.927 billion, down 45.4% the previous year;
➄ Capital expenditures for 2024 were $7.33 billion;
➅ The company's 8-inch standard logic monthly capacity the end of 2024 was 948,000 wafers;
➆ The average capacity utilization rate for the year was 85.6%;
➇ The company's first-quarter guidance for 2025 is a revenue increase of 6% to 8% from the previous quarter;
➈ The expected gross margin for the first quarter of 2025 is 19% to 21%;
➉ SMIC expects its revenue growth in 2025 to be higher than the average of comparable industries, with capital expenditures remaining roughly the same as in 2024.
- Over 10 Billion Yuan in Investments: New Progress on 5 Domestic Si Projects
➀ Multiple SiC-related projects in China have made new progress, including the commencement and production of new projects.
➁ Fastest has accelerated the progress of its SiC electro-control project, aiming to produce 2.5 million sets of synchronizers and 100,000 sets of motor electro-control systems annually.
➂ Tianyi Semiconductor is conducting pilot studies on SiC crystal rod processes.
➃ The project for producing Moissanite and SiC materials in Gongcheng, Guilin, has commenced.
➄ Daye Carbon is set to produce ultra-fine and ultra-pure graphite powder and other products for semiconductor chips and SiC chips.
➅ YiYuan Semiconductor's SiC project is expected to be completed and put into production next year.
- Fujian Entrepreneur's Chip Business Boosts His Wealth by Over 200B in Half a Year
➀ Deepseek's popularity has surged since the Spring Festival, sparking excitement in the secondary market for edge AI, boosting the stock prices of related listed companies, including chipmaker Rockchip.
➁ Rockchip's stock price has surged to 199.9 yuan per share, with a gain of nearly 100% since January 6th and a 400% increase from its low point on February 5, 2024.
➂ Founder Li Min's wealth has increased to 10 billion yuan, with an indirect holding of 423361% in Rockchip valued at about 32.9 billion yuan.
- OpenAI-o3-mini vs DeepSeek R1: A Comprehensive Comparison of Advanced AI Inference
➀ OpenAI's o3-mini and DeepSeek R1 are leading AI inference models, differing in design, performance, cost, and methods.
➁ o3-mini offers advanced reasoning, quick response times, and is integrated into ChatGPT, with a cost of about $1.10 per million input tokens and $4.40 per million output tokens.
➂ DeepSeek R1 is open-source, cost-effective, and shows its reasoning process, with a cost of about $0.14 per million input tokens for cache hits and $2.19 per million output tokens.
February 10
- 重磅！台积电正式断供！
➀ TSMC has officially notified a large number of Chinese mainland chip design companies of a supply cut;
➁ The supply cut will be effective from January 31, 2025, for products not packaged by "approved OSAT" on the US Department of Commerce's industrial and security bureau whitelist;
- Breakthrough Transformation from FinFET to GAAFET
➀ The article discusses the evolution of semiconductor architecture from planar transistors to FinFETs and now to Gate-All-Around (GAA) technology.
➁ GAAFET, with its wider sheets, offers improved drive current and performance, and better electrostatic characteristics compared to FinFETs.
➂ The transition to GAA requires rethinking the physical design process, including vertical integration and optimized routing strategies.
➃ Innovative power delivery networks and advanced EDA tools are crucial for maintaining power integrity and stability.
➄ GAA technology presents opportunities to optimize power, performance, and area (PPA) in semiconductor designs.
➅ Challenges such as cost, complexity, and manufacturing issues are addressed through DFM tools and advanced verification methods.
- Is It Just Sour Grapes? Debunking Arm CEO's Evaluation of DeepSeek's Potential Closure
➀ Arm CEO Rene Haas expressed his view that DeepSeek's emergence is surprising and may eventually be closed.
➁ Haas doubts the claim that DeepSeek's development cost was only $5.6 million.
➂ He predicts that DeepSeek may face closure in the future.
➃ Haas believes that the future of DeepSeek depends not only on its technical capabilities but also on the competition between China and the US in standard setting, computing power supply chain, and global developer ecosystem.
- Foreign Media Exposes the Backgrounds of Key Members of DeepSeek, China's AI Talent Return Trend Unstoppable
➀ Key members of DeepSeek, such as Pan Zizheng and Junxiao Song, have backgrounds from both China and overseas, and have returned to China's AI industry after studying abroad.
➁ Pan Zizheng, who once interned at NVIDIA and received a full-time offer, chose to join DeepSeek without hesitation.
➂ Junxiao Song, who graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, proposed a novel reinforcement learning algorithm GRPO and played an important role in DeepSeek's efficient training and model distillation.
➃ DeepSeek's unique corporate culture and work environment attract top talent, offering employees freedom and passion for their work.
➄ The increasing trend of Chinese AI talents choosing to work in China is a reflection of China's growing strength in AI development.
February 9
- Five Thoughts on TSMC's Cutting Off 16/14nm Process Chip Supplies to Mainland China
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.