Latest Semiconductor News Released on October 1 to 7, 2023

Six major technology giants to develop their own AI chips

Six major technology giants: Microsoft, OpenAI, Tesla, Google, Amazon, and Meta are developing their own AI chips and are expected to compete with Nvidia’s flagship microprocessor H100 GPU. Their actions may help reduce costs and reduce reliance on Nvidia AI chips.

Samsung plans to increase its NAND flash price by 10%

It is reported that in order to boost the NAND Flash chip market, Samsung Electronics plans to increase the price of NAND chips by more than 10% in Q4, which will begin in October at the earliest. Industry insiders believe that DRAM and NAND contract prices are expected to rise by 10% to 15% in Q4.

At present, it has become the market consensus that module manufacturers will raise prices for customers. And contract prices are also expected to rise along with spot prices. Module manufacturers will be the first to get more profits, while memory manufacturers and foundries continue to maintain prices through production cuts, so they are expected to recover later.

Global semiconductor sales increase 1.9% month-to-month in August, 2023

Global semiconductor industry sales totaled $44 billion in August 2023, an increase of 1.9% compared to July 2023 but 6.8% less than the August 2022 total of $47.2 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

By region, monthly sales increased in the Americas (4.6%), China (2.0%) and Asia Pacific/All Other (1.2%), but slightly declined in Japan (-0.4%) and Europe (-1.1%), while sales increased year over year in Europe (3.5%) and Americas (0.3%), but declined in Japan (-2.9%), Asia Pacific/All Other (-11.3%) and China (-12.6%).

Intel plans to build two new fabs in the United States

Intel recently stated that it plans to invest more than $20 billion to build two new cutting-edge chip factories in Ohio, USA. Some analysts pointed out that Intel's huge investment is related to the "Chip and Science Act" launched by the United States a year ago, so the company can seek semiconductor subsidy funds from the US government.

EU grabs ARM for first Exascale Supercomputer, not x86 architecture

The configuration of Jupiter, Europe's first exascale supercomputer, has been finalized, which is a victory for Nvidia and a disappointment for Intel and AMD. It will cost €273 million to build and will be paired with SiPearl's Rhea processor, which is based on the ARM architecture, and Nvidia's accelerator technology.

The supercomputer is being built by the European High Performance Computing JU (EuroHPC JU) and a consortium including Eviden and ParTec. And the Jülich Supercomputing Center near Munich will host the system, and its installation will begin in early 2024.

Intel to spin-off Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) as standalone business

Intel announced today that it will spin off its Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) to operate as an independent business. PSG is responsible for developing Intel's Agilex, Stratix and other FPGA products, will become an independent entity in the first quarter of 2024, and plans to sell part of IPO business.

DustPhotonics announces industry-first merchant 800G Silicon Photonics Chip

DustPhotonics Announces Industry-First Merchant 800G Silicon Photonics Chip for Hyperscale Data Centers and AI Applications.

The 800G PIC (Photonic Integrated Circuit) demonstrated at the European Optical Computing Conference (ECOC) in Glasgow this week is the first merchant single-chip that targets at DR8 and DR8+ applications. It provides 8 optical channels independently modulated at 100Gb/s for a total bandwidth of 800Gb/s.

The chip comes in a compact 7.5mm x 7mm package and is available in industry-standard QSFP and OSFP packages form factors and supports interconnects up to 2 kilometers in applications such as hyperscale data centers, AI and machine learning clusters.

Japan increases Micron's Hiroshima subsidy to US$1.3 billion

Japan will provide up to US$1.3 billion in additional subsidies for U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc.'s plant in Hiroshima. This capital increase ensures that the company can build the wafer fab on time. For the Japanese government, the grant is part of a broader plan to bolster Japan's semiconductor capabilities by investing billions of yen in various chip companies.

US restricts trade with 42 Chinese entities over Russia support

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it is adding 42 Chinese companies to a government export control list over support for Russia’s military and defense industrial base, whose actions violate the national security or foreign policy interests of the U.S. Commerce also said it is adding another seven entities in total from Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. This export control rule is effective from October 6, 2023.

Intel hails 'landmark' as high-volume EUV production begins at Irish plant later this year

Chipmaker Intel said on Friday it had begun high-volume production using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines at its $18.5 billion Irish Fab 34 wafer plant, which is an important milestone for its chip manufacturing.

Ann Kelleher, Intel's general manager of technology development, said that the next generation of High-NA EUV lithography exposure equipment will be introduced by the end of the year for the development and verification of Intel 18A node, and then even the node mass production. He also emphasized that the goal of "five-node process in four years" can be achieved theoretically with it.