The US will investigate potential data and cybersecurity risks posed by Chinese electric vehicles and other internet-connected cars, the Commerce Department said Thursday, intending to act before their manufacturers expand into American markets.
Congressional Democrats demanded in a letter Thursday that the Biden administration add more labor protections to its initiative aimed at boosting US semiconductor production.
As the curtain rises on the World Smart Energy Week 2024, Asia's premier renewable energy exposition, the stage is set for a dazzling display of innovation and collaboration. With over 1,700 exhibitors converging to unveil the latest advancements across eight world-class energy and technical sectors, including solar photovoltaic, offshore wind power, fuel cells, and second-generation batteries, anticipation is high for groundbreaking revelations.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the gaming subsidiary under the Sony Group, announced that it will lay off 900 employees, around 8% of SIE's total staff. The main reasons include the PlayStation 5 (PS5)'s weaker-than-expected sales, high development costs, and decreased profitability.
In a move highlighting the market's increasingly diversified demand for AI models, Microsoft recently announced its collaboration with Mistral AI, following in the footsteps of Google Cloud and Amazon's AWS.
The Japan-based telecommunication company NTT Docomo and others are promoting the application of Open RAN technology in communication infrastructure, becoming one of the topics at MWC 2024. Due to the trend of excluding Chinese telecom equipment such as Huawei in multiple countries, Open RAN is seen as a means to capture the market vacancy left after such exclusions, as it utilizes devices from multiple vendors instead of relying on products from a single telecom equipment manufacturer.
At MWC 2024, major smartphone brands made high-profile showcases of their latest generative AI applications that focused on generating images and videos from text or image inputs. Quick photo editing and image widening functions were also featured. As for text, summarization, translation, and smart voice assistants were also well-represented.
At MWC 2024, the spotlight shines brightly on AI as the driving force behind innovation in the mobile communications industry. Amidst the bustling halls and discussions, one prevailing theme has emerged: the proactive quest for synergy between AI and mobile technology, particularly in the realm of Open RAN.
The development of next-generation communication technologies occurs approximately every 10 years. The international communication standards organization 3GPP has gradually initiated discussions on the standards for 6G. It can be foreseen that the discussion on satellite communication, closely related to 6G, will continue to be lively.
Against the backdrop of ongoing discussions and anticipation surrounding AI's diverse applications, Win Semiconductors Chairman Chen Chin-Tsai boldly proclaimed the inevitable emergence of AI Cars.
Micron Technology unveiled at MWC 2024 that the forthcoming flagship smartphones from Honor and Samsung will feature the company's Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 mobile flash storage and low-power double data rate 5X (LPDDR5X) memory. In conjunction with the announcements, Micron unveiled an improved iteration of its UFS 4.0 solution, which incorporates innovative proprietary firmware features within the most compact package for managed NAND in the world.
Rumors persist that Apple is interested in investing in the development of the Apple Car. Recent speculations suggest that Project Titan, which has never been officially confirmed, might be terminated. According to industry sources, Apple's current main contract assembler, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), is not expected to be greatly affected despite its increasing emphasis on electric vehicles (EVs).
Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN), an initiative for all-photonics communication infrastructure led by Japanese telecom company NTT, has gained the attention of Japan's Ministry of Defense. Back in August 2023, the Ministry of Defense established a committee to promote the utilization of next-generation communication technology and began to look into IOWN. A dedicated research institution is expected to be set up in 2024, followed by a procurement budget in 2025, making the Defense Ministry a potential major adopter of IOWN.
In 2023, Taiwan's exports declined by 9.8%, which is of course related to the weakening of electronics exports, but with a total export value of US$432.5 billion, a trade surplus of US$80.56 billion, and a surplus of over US$300 billion in tax revenue, the overall result is not too bad. S&P Global projects a 19.2% growth for Taiwan's exports in 2024. What can be expected optimistically and what should be planned for?
Amidst the US trade sanctions and restrictions on technology exports, China's leading foundry SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) has not only been significantly unaffected in revenue. However, it is actively expanding its 12-inch wafer production lines to meet the production needs of Huawei's 7nm and upcoming 5nm chips, supported by government industrial policies and large customer orders from Huawei.
With TSMC's announcement in December 2023 that chairman Mark Liu will step down after the shareholder meeting in June 2024, the pure-play foundry has begun a new round of organizational restructuring.
As global geopolitical tension, economic instability, and persistent inflation affected the recovery of consumer products, Coretronic's shipments and revenue declined in 2023. However, the commencement of mass production at its second Vietnamese factory in February is expected to boost the business this year, and more significant growth is expected in 2025. Overall, since some of Coretronic's projects would only officially commence in the fourth quarter of this year, a stronger growth momentum is anticipated in 2025.
In recent years, major US-based cloud companies have initiated projects to develop chips in-house. Besides outsourcing to external IC design houses, internal demand for semiconductor talent is also increasing. Many related job openings have been posted for their headquarters, in India, and Taiwan. India has become a recruiting hotspot for Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
According to April Huang, general manager of the networking and communication business group (NCG) at Qisda, inventory adjustments among the company's customers during the second half of 2023 exceeded expectations, which may lead to a pessimistic forecast for the first half of 2024. However, growth is still expected for the entire year. Huang, who is also chairwoman of Qisda subsidiaries Alpha Networks, Hitron Technologies, and Interactive Digital Technologies, notes that companies should optimize for the long run during operational lows, which is why the corporate group has been integrating production and R&D resources across its three network and communications subsidiaries, while more clearly defining the missions and business strategies of each company.
During an extended WTO meeting, developed and developing members at WTO still could not agree on digital trade that may impact global IC design data transfers.
According to industrial production statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on January 29, the electronic component industry finally saw a year-on-year growth of 10.73% in January 2024, ending 16 consecutive months of negative growth. Even with a lower baseline due to the Lunar New Year holidays falling in January 2023, the industry saw increased production of 12-inch wafers, large-sized panels, and IC designs.
Following TSMC's fab in Kumamoto, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) expanded its global footprint in Japan and India, where it will partner with India-based Tata Electronics on a fab.
As the 2024 Mobile World Congress (MWC) draws to a close, it is apparent that AI has dominated the show. Numerous generative AI applications were showcased, beyond the AI smartphones and AI PCs that are already the industry's focus. AIoT applications, such as wearables, smart homes, and smart cities, have also burgeoned as wireless technologies are put in place.
According to reports, Apple has abandoned its nearly decade-long electric vehicle (EV) R&D and production strategy, leaving many wondering how this will impact Taiwan's ICT supply chain.
Apple has reportedly terminated its car project, internally dubbed "Project Titan." However, unspecified sources in its Asian supply chain say they have not received any official notification of its suspension.
India approved three additional semiconductor manufacturing projects after Micron's ATMP facility, with two proposed by Tata, as India is on its way to building a hub for semiconductor manufacturing.
TSMC has been increasing its monthly production capacity for CoWoS (chip-on-wafer-on-substrate) advanced packaging, allowing it to increase AI GPU output for Nvidia and AMD, which in turn is boosting server and graphics card shipments from Taiwanese makers, according to industry sources.
India's national space program has notched up some impressive accomplishments, such as the first landing near the south pole of the moon last year, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week announced the names of four Indian astronauts for the country's first crewed mission in 2025.
Indonesia, the world's largest nickel exporter, has a sobering message for struggling producers of the battery metal elsewhere: don't expect any meaningful revival in prices.
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