Latest Semiconductor News Released on September 17 to 23, 2023

EU fines Intel €376.36 million for anticompetitive practices in decades

Intel was fined 376 million euros on Friday in an EU antitrust case stemming from the U.S. chipmaker's anti-competitive practice nearly two decades ago to block rivals. The fine relates to Intel's practices regarding its dominance of the x86 central processing unit (CPU) market, which the EU said violated antitrust rules by excluding competitors from the market.

European Chips Act enters into force today

The European Chip Act officially comes into effect. It sets out a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the EU’s supply security, resilience and technological leadership in semiconductor technologies and applications. What’s more, it stimulates the European design ecosystem and supports scale-up and innovation across the value chain. The purpose of EU is to achieve the goal of doubling its current global market share to 20% by 2030.

China approves export licences for chip materials gallium and germanium

China has granted some domestic firms export licences for gallium and germanium products, the country's commerce ministry said, after its new restrictions on the key chipmaking metals came into force last month. After China implemented export controls on semiconductor materials gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge) from August 1, the export data of them in August was zero. About new decisions, some relevant companies have obtained export licenses.

GlobalFoundries lands $3.1 billion 10-Year U.S. government contract

U.S. government awards GlobalFoundries with a 10-year contract to make chips for aerospace and defense applications. Under this, GlobalFoundries have security clearances to make chips for the U.S. military at its two U.S. factories in Malta in Saratoga County and in Essex Junction, Vt., outside of Burlington. This month's initial allocation is $17.3 million, with a 10-year total spending cap of $3.1 billion.

Cadence to acquire Intrinsix Corporation from Ceva

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. and CEVA, a leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies, today jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Cadence to acquire Intrinsix Corporation.

According to reports, Intrinsix Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CEVA and a design engineering solutions provider focusing on the U.S. aerospace and defense industry. The acquisition will bring Cadence a highly skilled engineering team with expertise in advanced nodes, radio frequency, mixed-signal and security algorithms.

Toshiba to delist after $13.5bn takeover by JIP and Allies

Toshiba said on Thursday that a $14 billion tender offer from private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) had ended in success -JIP has acquired more than two-thirds of its 78.65% shares through acquisition invitations. Toshiba plans to delist as early as December 2023, ending its 74-year history as a listed company. At the same time, its semiconductor business, Kioxia, has also been experiencing huge losses and has recently been rumored to be intensifying merger negotiations with Western Digital (WD).

Telefonica Deutschland to seek compensation because of German proposal for Huawei curbs

German telecom operator Telefonica Deutschland said it would consider seeking damages from the German government and taking legal action because of the Huawei products restrictions, causing it to make retroactive adjustments to its network. The company is in regular contact with the German authorities and has stressed the need for consistency in security planning for communications infrastructure.

Global 200mm Fabs to reach record high capacity by 2026, SEMI reports

SEMI recently released the 200mm Fab Outlook to 2026 report. The report predicts that from 2023 to 2026, global semiconductor manufacturers' 200mm wafer fab production capacity will increase by 14%, with 12 new 200mm wafer fabs (excluding EPI, non-profit organization), reaching an all-time high of more than 7.7 million wafers per month.

By region, Southeast Asia is expected to lead the growth of 200mm production capacity, growing by 32% during the reporting period; Mainland China is expected to rank second with a growth rate of 22%, and is expected to reach more than 1.7 million pieces per month by 2026 Wafers; Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and Taiwan will follow with growth rates of 14%, 11%, and 7% respectively.