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☆ Canon, known for its cameras, launches ASML challenge with machine to make the most advanced chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Brian Ach | Getty ImagesCanon , the Japanese firm best known for its printers and cameras, launched a critical tool on Friday it says can help manufacture the most advanced semiconductors around. The latest "nanoimprint lithography" system is Canon's challenge to Dutch firm ASML , which dominates the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine space. ASML's tools are required to make the most advanced chips such as those in the latest Apple iPhones which are manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC . For context, the A17 Pro chip inside Apple's iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, is a 3nm semiconductor. Both TSMC and South Korea's Samsung, the two biggest advanced chip manufacturing companies, are aiming to make 2nm chips in 2025.

Persons: Brian Ach, Taiwan's TSMC, Canon, hasn't, Kotasthane, ASML Organizations: Getty, Apple, U.S, Canon, Pro, Samsung, Takshashila, CNBC Locations: China, South

☆ Huawei's chip breakthrough poses new threat to Apple in China — and questions for Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

There is no Chinese company that can do what TSMC does. Along with Huawei, SMIC is on a U.S. trade blacklist called the Entity List. The 7nm process is seen as highly-advanced in the world of semiconductors, even though it is not the latest technology. While SMIC is able to create 7nm chips, it's unclear how efficient, profitable and sustainable that is on a bigger scale. While the yield of SMIC's 7nm process for Huawei chips is not known, it is "probably low," Kotasthane said.

Persons: Aly Song, Donald Trump, shockwaves, SMIC, Dan Hutcheson, Kotasthane Organizations: Apple, Reuters Apple, Huawei, China's, Chinese Communist Party, U.S ., Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, SMIC, 5G, CNBC, Takshashila, The U.S . Department of Commerce, Street, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S Locations: Shanghai, China, U.S, Washington, . U.S, The

☆ India woos U.S. chip giants as it looks to become a semiconductor superpower
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has looked to woo American semiconductor firms to invest in his country. India's chip strategyIndia's chip strategy consists of two major parts. At SemiconIndia, the American chip firms in attendance spoke about their investments in India and announced new ones, highlighting India's focus on attracting foreign companies. Last month, Micron announced plans to set up a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in the state of Gujarat in India. The chip manufacturing tie-up between Vedanta and Foxconn reportedly relied on technology from European semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Anna Moneymaker, Modi, Ajit Manocha, Jefferies, Manocha, …, Mark Papermaster, Sanjay Mehrotra, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Young Liu, Foxconn, hasn't, Liu, Anil Agarwal, Pranay Kotasthane, haven't, Kotasthane Organizations: Indian, Getty Images, U.S, Micron, Cadence, Applied Materials, AMD, SemiconIndia, U.S ., Vedanta, CNBC, TV18, Takshashila Locations: U.S, Taiwan, South Korea, U.S . New Delhi, India, America, SemiconIndia, Bangalore, Gujarat, Vedanta

☆ Chip industry sits between a need for globalization and a need to protect national security: Expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChip industry sits between a need for globalization and a need to protect national security: ExpertPranay Kotasthane, chair of the high-tech geopolitics program at Takshashila Institution, discusses the geopolitics in-play between the U.S. and China surrounding semiconductor exports.

Organizations: Takshashila Institution, U.S Locations: China

☆ Japan-backed fund to buy critical semiconductor firm JSR for $6.3 billion as chip tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese Investment Corporation (JIC) proposed a $6.3 billion buyout of JSR, one of Japan's most critical chip firms. The Japanese Investment Corporation proposed an offer of 4,350 Japanese yen ($30.3) per share to buy JSR, marking a 35% premium to Friday's closing price. A fund backed by the Japanese government on Monday proposed a $6.3 billion acquisition of semiconductor material giant JSR , underscoring the strategic emphasis governments around the world are putting on the critical technology of chips. Countries such as the Netherlands, home to a critical chip firm called ASML, as well as Japan, followed suit with similar restrictions. "JIC's investment in JSR means that the government might have a higher say over its decisions," Kotasthane said.

Persons: JIC, Kotasthane Organizations: Japanese Investment Corporation, JSR, Takshashila, CNBC, U.S Locations: Japan, China, Netherlands

☆ Huawei reportedly says it has developed domestic chip design tools despite U.S. sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Huawei reportedly said it has developed its own chip design tools, a move aimed at side-stepping U.S. sanctions and making the Chinese technology giant more self-sufficient in the semiconductor space. U.S. firms dominate the chip design tool market with companies like Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems . But in 2020, Washington, through sanctions, cut off Huawei from American chipmaking tools, which crippled the Chinese technology giant's smartphone business. Xu's speech said that the design tools would be for 14 nanometer chips and above. Pranay Kotasthane, chairperson of the high tech geopolitics program at the Takshashila Institution, told CNBC he would wait to see more details before knowing how effective Huawei's design tools are.

Samsung said it will make a 300 trillion Korean won investment in a new semiconductor facility in South Korea over the next two decades. It is part of a broader tech investment plan by the South Korean government. The South Korean government is looking to join together its biggest technology companies to spur development in key areas. The new 300 trillion won chip complex Samsung is building will be just outside of the South Korean capital of Seoul. The South Korean government said that companies will build five chip manufacturing facilities in the cluster.

☆ A globally critical chip firm is driving a wedge between the U.S. and Netherlands over China tech policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. has been putting pressure on the Netherlands to block exports to China of high-tech semiconductor equipment. The Netherlands is home to ASML, one of the most important companies in the global semiconductor supply chain. Instead, it makes and sells $200 million extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to semiconductor manufacturers like Taiwan's TSMC. ASML has not been able to ship an EUV machine to China since 2019 due to various Dutch export restrictions, according to a company spokesperson. According to a Reuters report from 2020, the Dutch government withdrew ASML's license to export its EUV machines to China after extensive lobbying from the U.S. government.

☆ America's 'once unthinkable' chip export restrictions will hobble China's semiconductor ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

America argues that such advanced semiconductors can be used by China for advanced military capabilities. U.S. companies will be heavily restricted in exporting machinery to Chinese companies that are manufacturing chips of a certain sophistication. "The latest chip rules are a sign that Washington is not trying to rebuild relations with Beijing. For example, it's unlikely that advanced chips manufactured by TSMC won't have used American tools somewhere along the way. Under those rules, Huawei was cut off from the most advanced chips that TSMC was manufacturing and that were designed for its smartphones.

☆ 'India has a big role to play': New Delhi is trying to turn the country into a chip powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Foundries are facilities that manufacture chips that other companies design. So there aren't many giant Indian chip firms and certainly no leading-edge manufacturing companies. "I have no doubt that India has a big role to play," Kotasthane said. Semiconductor design requires large numbers of skilled engineers and this is where India's strength lies," he added. So now, the next step is the effort to build an ecosystem where there is some Indian IP (intellectual property) by Indian companies," Kotasthane said.

☆ The U.S. and its allies are joining forces on chips. That could stop China reaching the next level
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Leading chipmaking nations including the U.S. are forming alliances, in part to secure their semiconductor supply chain and to stop China from reaching the cutting-edge of the industry, analysts told CNBC. But the semiconductor supply chain is complex — it includes areas ranging from design to packaging to manufacturing and the tools that are required to do that. "The other geopolitical significance is just related to Taiwan's central role in the semiconductor supply chain. Alliances being built that exclude ChinaBecause of the complexity of the chip supply chain, no country can go it alone. One is about bringing together countries, each with their "comparative advantages," to "string together alliances that can develop secure chips," Kotasthane said.

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