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WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 (Reuters) - A chip plant that South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is building in Taylor, Texas, will cost the world's biggest memory chipmaker over $25 billion, up more than $8 billion from initial forecasts, according to two people familiar with the matter. The increase in cost is primarily due to inflation, the people said, declining to be named because the information was not public. "The higher construction cost is about 80% of the cost increase," one of the sources said. Meanwhile, Intel Corp (INTC.O) announced a $20 billion chip factory in Ohio that it could expand to cost up to $100 billion. Samsung, the world's No.2 contract chip manufacturer, announced its Taylor, Texas, plant in 2021.

An employee stands by cables inside a ASML Twinscan XT1000 lithography machine, during manufacture at the ASML factory in Veldhoven, Netherlands. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Dutch government is pressing ahead with export restrictions on "advanced" semiconductor manufacturing equipment following political pressure from the United States. Although the letter does not reference China, it comes after pressure from the White House, which in 2022 imposed export controls that limit Beijing from accessing certain semiconductor chips. At the time, American officials recognized that if other countries did not impose similar restrictions, the export controls would lose effectiveness over time. Since 2018, the U.S. has reportedly been asking the Dutch government to stop ASML shipping its extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to China.

☆ ASML, China customers haunted by uncertainty on new Dutch chip export rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Tosterling Philip Blenkinsop | Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "installed base" segment contributed about 25% of ASML's worldwide revenue in 2022. ING analyst Marc Hesselink calculated that the new Dutch rules could possibly affect products that account for 10% of ASML's worldwide sales. The Chinese may have a competitive advantage there, and ASML's sales in China could even grow modestly. Regardless, ASML will thrive outside China in the long run as chipmakers worldwide expand capacity, he said. "The demand for ASML machines is not going to be impacted, it's simply going to shift to a different region," he said.

Hong Kong CNN —Europe’s biggest producer of advanced chipmaking technology has joined the United States in its escalating standoff with China. Japan has also been involved in three-way discussions with the Netherlands and the United States, a source familiar with the talks told CNN. China said Thursday it “firmly opposes” the Netherlands’ upcoming curbs, which come just months after the United States restricted sales of some semiconductor machinery to Beijing. He accused Western countries led by the United States of trying to “contain” and “suppress” China. European battlegroundThe announcement of the Netherlands’ export restrictions, the details of which are expected to be confirmed before the summer, isn’t the first time the US-China tech rivalry spilled over into Europe.

☆ S. Korea's trade minister to raise concerns over Chips Act in US meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's trade minister will meet with counterparts in Washington this week to express concerns that the U.S. Chips Act could make the U.S. a less attractive investment destination, its trade ministry said. During his trip, South Korea's trade minister Ahn Duk-geun plans to meet with senior officials from the U.S. Commerce Department and White House as well as officials from major think tanks to discuss the Chips Act. The Chips Act plays a central role in the Biden administration's effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing home, and its success is vital to U.S. ambitions to keep ahead of China in global markets. Under the Chips Act, companies that accept the incentives are required to share with the U.S. government a portion of their profits that exceed initial projections by an agreed-upon threshold. Companies winning chips subsidies would be barred from engaging in joint research and technology licensing efforts or expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern like China for 10 years.

The Netherlands' government on Wednesday said it plans new restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, joining the United State's effort to curb chip exports to China. Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher announced the decision in a letter to parliament, saying the restrictions will be introduced before the summer. It specified one technology that will be impacted is "DUV" lithography, the second-most advanced machines that ASML sells to computer chip manufacturers. Major ASML customers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel are engaged in capacity expansions. ASML has never sold its most advanced "EUV" machines to customers in China, and the bulk of its DUV sales in China go to relatively less advanced chipmakers.

☆ Dutch to restrict semiconductor tech exports to China, joining US effort
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Amsterdam/Washington Reuters —The Netherlands’ government on Wednesday said it plans new restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology to protect national security, joining the US effort to curb chip exports to China. The announcement marked the first concrete move by the Dutch, who oversee essential chipmaking technology, toward adopting rules urged by Washington to hobble China’s chipmaking industry and slow its military advances. It specified one technology that will be impacted is “DUV” lithography systems, the second-most advanced machines that ASML sells to computer chip manufacturers. Major ASML customers such as TSMC and Intel (INTC) are engaged in capacity expansions. ASML has never sold its most advanced “EUV” machines to customers in China, and the bulk of its “DUV” sales in China go to relatively less advanced chipmakers.

☆ Citi sees chip stocks hitting 'new lows.' Here are its top picks to ride out the storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Although chip stocks have broadly rebounded this year , Citi warns that they could be about to hit new lows as companies trim guidance. Given this "defensive stance," the analyst said Analog Devices remains its top pick in this environment, describing it as the "most defensive name." Citi also named a few semiconductor stocks to consider once the dark times are over. Analog Devices, Micron, ON Semi and GlobalFoundries are all buy-rated by the bank. The bank gives Analog Devices, ON Semi, and GlobalFoundries each around 22% upside potential.

☆ How best to invest in AI: What leading Wall Street firms and analysts are saying as the rally continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Experts at BofA and UBS recently wrote about their approaches for investing in the theme. Tech analyst Dan Ives doubled his price target on AI pure play C3.AI, which has soared almost 150%. One of the market's splashiest artificial intelligence newcomers is here to stay, says Wedbush tech stock analyst Dan Ives. On Friday Ives boosted his price target on AI software company C3.AI from $13 per share all the way to $24. "The company continues to experience increased demand for its AI solutions that are designed to increase a range of applications across industries fueling tailwinds in the market," Ives wrote.

☆ Factbox: Chinese chipmaking equipment manufacturers filling void left by U.S. export restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Naura's most advanced etching machine supports 55 nm and 28 nm chipmaking technology, well behind the leading edge of chip manufacturing. The firm also makes deposition machines, which apply chemicals and gases to silicon wafers throughout the chipmaking process. It produces machines that can service the 14 nm to 28 nm process nodes of its deposition machines. ADVANCED MICRO-FABRICATION EQUIPMENT INC CHINA (AMEC) (688012.SS)AMEC makes etching equipment used to remove excess material from the surface of silicon wafers. BEIJING E-TOWN SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY CO LTD (BEST)BEST produces degumming equipment used to remove photoresist chemicals during the lithography process.

☆ Tesla's plan to slash silicon carbide use sends some chipmakers' shares down
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Shares in some chipmakers dipped on Thursday after electric vehicle maker Tesla said it plans to greatly reduce the use of silicon carbide transistors in its next-generation vehicle powertrains. Campbell revealed that, "In our next powertrain, the silicon carbide transistors that I mentioned, that are key component[s] but expensive, we figured out a way to use 75% less without compromising the performance or the efficiency of the car." Chips made with silicon carbide transistors are widely used in electric vehicles. They added the possibility that "cheaper [silicon carbide chips] could drive up EV adoption globally so what vendors lose on content could be partially offset by greater EV volumes." New Street does not expect a lower-priced, next generation Tesla vehicle to "ramp in volumes before 2025 or 2026."

☆ South Korean startup rival to Nvidia seeks $400 million valuation and plans new A.I. chip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sapeon was spun off from South Korea's SK Telecom in 2022 and is raising outside investment. BARCELONA, Spain — Sapeon, a South Korean artificial intelligence chip startup headquartered in California, is raising a funding round that puts its valuation above $400 million, its CEO told CNBC. The startup is backed by massive South Korean firms SK Telecom, memory-chip maker SK Hynix and SK Square, an investment company spun off of SK Telecom. But a number of established players such as AMD and startups like Sapeon, are looking to challenge Nvidia. Analysts at Bernstein expect ChatGPT to be a multi-billion dollar boon for chipmakers looking to fuel these AI models.

☆ ChatGPT use could spark a new market for chipmakers worth 'tens of billions' annually, Bernstein calculates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Given this, our math suggests a GPU TAM in the multiple tens of billions of dollars annually is potentially plausible once ChatGPT and other large language models are at scale," he added. According to Bernstein's calculations, 100 million ChatGPT queries a day would require annual purchases of $1 billion to $2 billion worth of Nvidia's H100 PCIe chips. At one billion queries a day, expect $10 billion to $20 billion worth of purchases, Rasgon said. Add Google's search queries to the mix, or roughly 10 billion a day, and Rasgon anticipates $150 billion worth of potential H100 graphics processing unit sales annually. "Presumably the cost curve will slope downward as the scale of large language model adoption rises, but the multi-fold expansion of GPU market feels inevitable if [large language model] usages (whether for search or otherwise) becomes a sustained thing," Rasgon wrote.

☆ The Biden administration's recent ultimatum to chipmakers is the first step for a grander plan designed to give more workers affordable childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Firms that want a shot at the $39 billion have to show that workers will have access to childcare. "That's why we're requiring companies that receive funding to tell us how they plan to provide affordable child care for workers." As Insider's Avery Hartmans reported, offering affordable childcare is one solid way for firms to attract young workers in a tight labor market. "Women are not able to answer the help wanted ad if they don't have steady, affordable childcare, because they know they can't be reliable, productive employees," Raimondo previously told Insider. Critics of the practice often point to firms prioritizing their own market value over spending that money on salaries or workers.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Monday: Bouncing stocks, Club earnings ahead, inflation signs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

My top 10 things to watch Monday, Feb. 27 1. One of the things we talked about was the first thing you must do before you buy a single stock. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday: Hot inflation — bond yields up and stocks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. ET: Jim and Jeff discuss the Club portfolio (Part 1)12:15--1:30 p.m. ET: Jim and Jeff discuss the portfolio (Part 2)2:15-2:45 p.m.

☆ U.S. likely to cap level of S.Korean chips made in China- U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The United States will likely limit the level of advanced semiconductors made by South Korean companies in China, a senior U.S. official said. Estevez who oversees restrictions on tech exports to China made the comments on Thursday during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were not immediately available for comment. Earlier, an American official acknowledged the existence of a deal with Japan and the Netherlands for those countries to impose new restrictions on exports of chipmaking tools to China. read moreReporting by Ju-min Park and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall St set for higher open as Nvidia outweighs Fed jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Futures cut some gains after data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. "Markets are tracking the earnings reports overnight from Nvidia," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. ET, Dow e-minis were up 39 points, or 0.12%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.38%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 106.25 points, or 0.88%. Analysts polled by Reuters predict a correction within the next three months even though they expect the S&P 500 (.SPX) to climb 5% by year-end. Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) fell 4.4% after the vaccine maker reaffirmed its annual sales forecast of $5 billion for its COVID-19 vaccines despite its fourth-quarter sales exceeding estimates.

☆ Nvidia results show its growing lead in AI chip race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, shows the Drive Pegasus robotaxi AI computer at his keynote address at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 7, 2018. AI has emerged as a bright spot for investments in the tech industry, whose slowing growth has led to widespread layoffs and a cutback on experimental bets. SPECIALIZED CHIPSGraphics processing units are designed to handle the specific kind of math involved in AI computing very efficiently, while generic central processing units (CPUs) from Intel can handle a broader range of computing tasks with less efficiency. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), whose shares also rose after Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, is the second-biggest player in the GPU industry, with a market share of roughly 20%. Nvidia's strength in the AI industry has also attracted the attention of venture capitalists and startups, which are investing billions of dollars and promising improvements such as lower electricity consumption.

☆ We asked 4 expert tech investors how to invest in AI without getting sucked in by the hype. Here's what they told us.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Insider spoke to four tech fund managers about their ideas and approaches to the theme. This year, Open AI's ChatGPT has attracted even more hype — and much more money — as Microsoft invested $10 billion in Open AI. "Fads and themes are really common in technology," mutual fund manager Matthew Moberg told Insider. "A lot of the leading AI companies are using Cloudflare today, and we think that will increase." Michael Loukas is the CEO of TrueMark Investments, which launched its Tech, AI, and Deep Learning ETF three years ago.

☆ Ark Invest's chief futurist on how AI race threatens Google's 'fragile' business model
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Kevin Schmidt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I think Google is fundamentally impaired by this transition to AI," Brett Winton, the chief futurist at Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management, told Melissa Lee on CNBC's ' Fast Money ' recently. "Their entire business model is built around taking people and delivering them to the next byte, and these AI systems actually deliver answers to the end users" he said. 'Fragile' model Moving forward, Winton doesn't see head-to-head competition between search engines necessarily leading to a winning AI strategy. "I think Google's model is fragile, and it doesn't necessarily accrue to Microsoft's benefit," he said. "It's much clearer that there will be a lot of money spent on AI investment," Winton said, adding that the key for either tech giant to be well-positioned is by providing AI capabilities in their software."

☆ Factbox: Chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Under the European Chips Act, the European Commission earmarked early last year a total of 15 billion euros ($16 billion) for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030. Below are some of the chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, in alphabetical order:Infineon (IFXGn.DE):The maker of chips used in cars and data won approval to begin work on a 5 billion euro semiconductor plant in the German city of Dresden, it said on Feb. 16. Intel (INTC.O):In March 2022, Intel picked the German city of Magdeburg as the site for its new mega chip manufacturing complex, a key part of its $88 billion investment drive across Europe. STMicroelectronics (STM.BN):The Franco-Italian company said in October it plans to build a 730 million euro silicon carbide wafer plant in Italy. It also announced plans in July to build a semiconductor factory in France in partnership with GlobalFoundries (GFS.O).

☆ Applied Materials forecasts strong Q2 as chipmakers scale up production
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Chip tools maker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) on Thursday forecast second-quarter revenue broadly above market estimates, as it benefits from higher production of semiconductors that had been in short supply for the most of last year. After a global shortage of semiconductors affected everything from smartphones to car production, chipmakers are now scrambling to boost capacity in the United States and Europe and reduce reliance on Asian hubs. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.40 billion, plus or minus $400 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.29 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Revenue for the first quarter was $6.74 billion, compared with analysts' average expectation of $6.69 billion. Excluding items, the company earned $2.03 per share, beating estimates of $1.93 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ ASML says ex-China employee misappropriated data relating to its critical chip technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dutch firm ASML makes one of the most important pieces of machinery required to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world. U.S. chip curbs have left companies, including ASML, scrambling to figure out what the rules mean in practice. ASML , one of the world's most critical semiconductor firms, said Wednesday that it recently discovered that a former employee in China had misappropriated data related to its proprietary technology. "We have experienced unauthorized misappropriation of data relating to proprietary technology by a (now) former employee in China," ASML said in its annual report. "However, as a result of the security incident, certain export control regulations may have been violated.

☆ A corner of tech is up 50% from its 2022 lows — and strategists recommend these stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The semiconductor sector has seen quite a turnaround of late. Chip stocks were among the worst performers last year, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) shedding more than 35% of its value. Despite this, chip stocks have flown somewhat under the radar since the beginning of the year as the buzz around artificial intelligence and a recovery in Big Tech dominated investor attention. While the semiconductor sector is notorious for its cyclicality and boom-bust cycles, several Wall Street pros are urging investors to take a longer-term view. Europe stock ideas In Europe, a raft of chip stocks made Bank of America 's list of "2023 European Best Stock Ideas."

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