They say the law’s wide scope of application could put foreign businesses in China in a big dilemma, as they could be caught between complying with foreign sanctions and the law. ban them from taking such measures. Chinese technology company Huawei. Photo of CPO MAGAZINE According to Article 12 of the law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on June 10, organizations and individuals that enforce or support foreign sanctions can be brought to court and forced to must “stop the violation and pay compensation”. Lester Ross, a partner at Beijing-based law firm WilmerHale, said he was concerned the new law would force regulators to “reduce companies’ discretion in determining whether they want to do business with them.” With whom”. “If so, this could have a big impact, especially for financial institutions,” he said. Businesses that may be at risk include multinational fashion brands that have announced they will not use cotton from Xinjiang after being banned by the US over human rights concerns, or suppliers to telecommunications giant Huawei, which has been hit by US export restrictions. Observers say the new law establishes a clear legal foundation for regulations issued by the Commerce Department last year. These include so-called untrusted legal entities lists, which identify foreign agencies deemed to pose a threat to China’s national security or interests and subject them to measures such as fines, economic restrictions and visa restrictions for employees. In January, the ministry also introduced a “blocking regulation” that forces Chinese organizations and individuals to report whether they have encountered any restrictions from foreign governments with the risk of fines if not, and allow them to claim. Tian Feilong, PSG at Beihang University’s law school, who has participated in consultations on the new law, said the blocking regulation has affected compliance with certain US sanctions. “In China, for example, Huawei can sue Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC for economic damages and seek compensation for the consequences,” Tian said. “Our court may rule that TSMC loses and Huawei will have a domestic legal channel to protect its interests. In this case, TSMC will have to decide whether to honor the sanctions. US sanctions or respect anti-sanctions laws in China,” he added. Tian said a leadership group would be set up to coordinate and enforce anti-sanctions measures, including representatives from the ministries of commerce and foreign affairs and the National Development and Reform Commission. “Simply put, foreign companies participating in sanctions against China will lose the Chinese market. Many companies need to weigh their pros and cons, whether to choose sides in the market. the Chinese market or the US and European markets, and between Chinese law and foreign law,” he said.

Recently, leak expert Jon Prosser has shared a series of CAD render images believed to be of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, thereby giving us a clearer view of the design of the new iPhone line. (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) Specifically, in a new video on YouTube channel FrontPageTech, leak expert Jon Prosser has said that the iPhone 13 will have a slightly thicker body than the previous generation to accommodate a larger battery, in line with the leaks. and previous rumors. This leak expert mentions some other design changes that were rumored before, including a smaller “notch” and a new diagonal rear camera arrangement for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 versions. mini. (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) Jon Prosser also includes links to two CAD files in his video description, so anyone can download and test the changes the new iPhone series brings. In addition to the design changes mentioned above, the improvements of this year’s iPhone 13 series also come from the 120Hz LTPO OLED screen, which is expected to be available only on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) (Photo: FRONT PAGE TECH / YouTube) iPhone 13 is also expected to feature an upgraded rear camera system, support for Wi-Fi 6E standard and Touch ID fingerprint sensor hidden under the screen next to Face ID. It is expected that the iPhone 13 Series will have 4 versions similar to its predecessor, including: iPhone 13 mini 5.4 inch, iPhone 13 6.1 inch, iPhone 13 Pro 6.1 inch and iPhone 13 Pro Max 6.7 inch. iPhone 13 is expected to use the new A15 Bionic chip manufactured on TSMC’s “N5P” process, promising to bring improvements in performance and power consumption compared to the previous generation.

TSMC will increase semiconductor chips for cars by 60% this year To do this, TSMC has to reallocate semiconductor chip production capacity to other industries that are also experiencing “stressfully high demand due to the acceleration of digital transformation”. The Taiwanese semiconductor chip maker said: “With fixed short-term capacity, TSMC has been trying to increase production in 2021 for microcontrollers (MCUs), one of the key components in the products sold in China. leading cars by 60% compared to the level in 2020”. This represents a 30% increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. TSMC will also continue to work with the automotive supply chain to address the current shortage. Modernizing supply chain management and increasing demand forecasting will be the way to avoid such shortages in the future, TSMC added. The global semiconductor chip shortage, which began last year, has forced some auto production lines to close and is also affecting consumer electronics. TSMC has repeatedly said it is doing its best to address shortages and ramp up production. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on May 20 that she had held meetings with 30 senior industry leaders about the semiconductor chip shortage and said the US could help. increase transparency in the market. This meeting was attended by major automakers such as General Motors, Ford Motor, Stellantis NV, semiconductor chip suppliers and other semiconductor companies. Phan Van Hoa (according to Reuters)

On each microprocessor there are billions of transistors and nm (nanometer) – the unit of measurement of transistor size. The smaller the size, the more transistors the processor can hold, making it faster and more efficient. TSMC’s most advanced chip today uses a 5 nm process with about 173 million transistors per square millimeter. Silicon chip wafers in TSMC’s production line. Photo: TSMC. This breakthrough was discovered by the MIT team, with components optimized by TSMC and improved by NTU. The core component uses semi-metallic bismuth as the electrode of a two-dimensional material to replace silicon, allowing for reduced resistance and increased amperage. Energy efficiency will thus rise to unprecedented heights in the semiconductor industry. Chipmakers have been trying to stuff more and more transistors into increasingly smaller chips, but are nearing the limits of silicon-based technology. That prompted scientists to look for two-dimensional materials to replace silicon to produce chips on the 1 nm process or smaller. More transistors on a chip gives manufacturers more options to deliver core innovations to improve performance for leading tasks like AI and cloud computing, and pave the way for better security. Encryption and encryption are performed by hardware. The need to increase performance and save energy in each processor has never cooled down, especially in the era of the cloud, AI, and IoT. Most of today’s chip-integrated devices use 10 nm or 7 nm process technology. The two largest chip manufacturers in the world, TSMC and Samsung, are launching chips with the 5 nm process, while Intel is still at the 7 nm stage. TSMC also only plans to start moving to the 4mm process later this year before mass production in 2022.

While today’s most advanced technologies can produce chips as small as 3 nm, the new technology will “break the limits of Moore’s law”, said Chih-I Wu, Professor from NTU and co-author of the paper. research said. Moore’s Law can be broken by TSMC’s sub-1 nm chip manufacturing technology. Photo: Reuters. One of the obstacles when it comes to improving the chip manufacturing process lies in the structure and choosing the right materials. According to the Tom’s Hardware , shrinking the chip size but denser transistors can increase the resistance at the electrodes, affecting the performance. Research shows that using bismuth as an electrode significantly reduces resistance, increasing transistor amperage. Currently, TSMC’s technology uses tungsten as the electrode, and Intel’s cobalt. TSMC’s sub-1nm chip manufacturing technology is still being tested before mass production in the next few years. Alternatively, further studies may consider using a different electrode material instead of bismuth. Discovered in 1965 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, Moore’s law has become the rule for the advancement of semiconductor technology. According to this law, the number of transistors on a chip will double every 2 years, while the power consumption is halved. Over the years, chip companies around the world have continuously invested in semiconductors, a technology field that is considered a key future. In early May, the US company IBM introduced the world’s first 2 nm chip manufacturing technology. This process can quadruple smartphone battery life, cut data center carbon emissions, speed up laptops, and support high-performance artificial intelligence (AI). China is also looking to catch up with the US in semiconductors, amid technological advances that could cause Moore’s law to break. According to the SCMP , the Chinese government has proposed a five-year plan, referring to the potential semiconductor technology “post” Moore’s law. What if humans had chips in their brains Elon Musk creates an AI-powered device that interacts with the human brain. But is that really a good idea?

“I’m really surprised! VinSmart has entered the top 3 brands in Vietnam, and the top 20 in Asia by the end of 2020. They still have many opportunities in the near future when 5G networks are more popular in Asian countries. Asia, Africa, with cheaper usage,” said Neil Mawston, global head of telecommunications at research firm Strategy Analytics. Zing . VinSmart’s smartphone production may be hampered by a global chip shortage. When asked if a reason for the decision could be found, Mr. Mawston suggested that the global chip crisis could be a factor. Not just a single name, this crisis is making many smartphone manufacturers difficult. Many firms face difficulties in the global crisis hoảng “In terms of sales volume, VinSmart is still a small smartphone company in terms of scale. I think small firms are suffering the most because of the chip shortage crisis,” said Anshel Sag, an analyst at the company. Moor Insights & Strategy shared with Zing. The crisis of the semiconductor industry began with the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic. At that time, manufacturers thought that user demand would also decrease. However, the truth is the opposite. Due to long-term stay at home, people buy more technology. They buy more powerful computers, bigger screens to work from home. Children can buy new laptops to study at home. TVs, game consoles, and home appliances all increased sales. Chip companies like TSMC are working at more than 100% capacity to reduce the impact of the chip industry crisis. Photo: Reuters. The pandemic has turned into a month-long shopping festival. Therefore, the demand for chips also increased sharply. In the world, there are only a few outsourcing companies possessing modern technology to provide chips for smartphones. When every industry wants to increase production, the supply cannot meet. “Small firms are at a disadvantage because their scale is not large enough, leading to very thin profit margins. In the smartphone industry, scale is very important. It takes a lot of smartphones to be able to negotiate flexible prices. good conditions,” said Mr. Sag when asked about the difficulties of small smartphone manufacturers. In the first quarter financial report published at the end of April, Apple CEO Tim Cook also warned about chip shortages. The head of Apple said that it was not the demand that fell, but the lack of chip supply was the company’s biggest concern in the second quarter. Apple CEO also acknowledged that the company may face difficulties in the near future because of chip shortages. Photo: Cnet. “We think there will be a problem with supply. The chip shortage will mainly affect iPads and Macs. We also control our demand fairly well, but cannot comment on demand from vendors. different,” the Apple CEO told investors. Haven’t found a solution yet Currently, the smartphone market is only a game of a few big companies. One-time names like Sony accepted to downsize, selling only 400,000 units in the first quarter as they tried to keep the Xperia brand for a while. The chip crisis will make it even more difficult for small-scale smartphone companies in the near future. VinSmart has entered the top 3 brands in Vietnam, and the top 20 in Asia by the end of 2020. They also have many opportunities in the near future when 5G networks are more popular in Asian and African countries, with fees. cheaper to use. – Neil Mawston, Global Head of Telecommunications at research firm Strategy Analytics “When producing on a small scale, these companies will be the first affected by the lack of supply, increasing prices. It should also be remembered that suppliers still prioritize serving large, most important customers. theirs,” commented Mr. Anshel Sag. According to Neil Mawston, in addition to the main processor, another component, the screen, also increased in price by about 15%. This is also a consequence of the chip crisis, because every screen on a smartphone must have a control chip. “The pandemic, social distancing, and competition for supplies with other products such as tablets, laptops and electric vehicles have put the smartphone component supply chain in the most stressful state in years.” Mr. Neil Mawston shared. In a recent interview, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said that the chip shortage could last until the end of 2021. Therefore, difficulties are still ahead for many companies producing technology products. Cars are the manufacturing sector hardest hit by chip shortages. Technology manufacturers may also be affected in the near future. Photo: Automotive News. When asked more about VinSmart, Mr. Neil Mawston said that he was surprised because Vsmart smartphones have a certain market share in the domestic market. This analyst believes that this is one of the big advantages to be able to expand into the regional market. “Every major smartphone maker uses the domestic market as a platform to go regional or global. Apple’s iPhone was successful in the US and then expanded to other countries. The story is similar to Huawei in China. Korea, and Samsung in Korea. VinSmart is also open to growth in Southeast Asia. Therefore, we find it difficult to understand when they decide to stop producing smartphones, especially when the opportunity for 5G is very close, “Mr. Mawston said.

Apple will use its own 5G chip for iPhones in 2023. Photo: Macrumors TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple’s first 5G iPhone 12s reached consumers last year. Apple’s entire iPhone model is dependent on Qualcomm chips, and now Apple is designing its own 5G chip for use in its latest iPhones in 2023. Apple currently uses Qualcomm modems, including the Snapdragon X55 modem in iPhone 12 models. In 2019, a legal agreement between Apple and Qualcomm revealed that Apple will likely use the Snapdragon X60 modem on iPhone models. 2021, followed by the Snapdragon X65 modem for the iPhone 2022. Apple’s roadmap is that by 2023, it is likely that the iPhone will use the Snapdragon X70 modem with Apple working to make its own 5G chip, it is unlikely that Snapdragon will be available on the iPhone model in the next years according to the. A deal between Apple and Intel worth $1 billion brought Apple the 5G modem business in 2019. This is an opportunity for Apple to ditch the Qualcomm chip to use its own 5G modem. In recent years, Apple has continued to expand around internal chips for its other product lines. Most recently, the Apple-designed M1 Chip is available on select Mac models and is currently on the iPad Pro. Apple will also gradually phase out Intel chips in its latest product lines. It is known that Apple’s Modem will probably be manufactured by longtime chip manufacturing partner TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor company.

Today, chips are in everything from PlayStation 5s and toothbrushes to washing machines and alarm clocks, and chip shortages have led some to call the current crisis “chipageddon” — chip shortages computers globally. Glenn O’Donnell, vice president of research at consulting firm Forrester, believes chip shortages could last until 2023. “As demand will remain high and supply will remain constrained, we anticipate this shortfall to last through 2022 and into 2023,” he wrote on a blog. O’Donnell expects PC demand to “slightly drop” next year, but “not much.” “Combine that with the desire to digitize everything with the continued growth in cloud computing and crypto mining, and we see nothing but a short burst of chip demand,” O. ‘ said Donnell. Meanwhile, Patrick Armstrong, CEO of Plurimi Investment Managers, said last week that the chip shortage will last 18 months. “It’s not just cars. That’s the phone. It is the internet of things (IoT). There are more chip-based gadgets now than ever before. All of them are internet enabled.” The car industry has been affected by the global chip shortage more than any other sector. The world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said earlier this month that it thinks its production will be able to catch up with auto demand by June. , Armstrong believed it was an ambitious plan. “Ford, BMW, Volkswagen all emphasized that there were capacity bottlenecks and they couldn’t get the chips needed to make the new cars,” O’Donell said. In a separate development, global research and consulting firm Gartner said last week that chip shortages will persist through 2021 and that the shortage affects all chip types and chip prices. growing. Gartner analyst Alan Priestley said the situation could improve for some sectors over the next six months, but there could be a “side effect” in 2022. In March, Intel announced plans to spend $20 billion on two new chip factories in Arizona. Intel also said it could build a factory in Europe if funding is arranged. “Those plans will take two or three years before we start to see that. But that’s really looking forward to meeting future demand,” said analyst Priestley. Wenzhe Zhao, director of global economics and strategy at Credit Suisse said in a note last week that recent chip shortages have encouraged inventory hoarding along the chip production chain, widening the gap. between expanding demand and stagnant supply. Mr. Zhao said that new semiconductor production capacity will not take place until 2022 or later, and the problem of solving the current shortage besides adjusting the order book, production schedule and price is very difficult.

Today, chips are in everything from game consoles and toothbrushes to washing machines and alarm clocks. However, the world is facing a serious chip crisis, showing no signs of stopping. Glenn O’Donnell, vice president of research at consulting firm Forrester, believes the situation will last until 2023 due to high demand and continued supply stress. He forecast personal computer demand will decline slightly next year, while data centers will buy more chips. According to him, combined with the growth in cloud computing and mining, the demand for chips is going to explode. According to Patrick Armstrong, IT director of Plurimi Investment Managers, the chip crisis could last 18 months. There are too many products that require chips such as cars, phones, IoT… All connected to the Internet. The car industry is affected more than any other sector. Earlier this month, the world’s largest chipmaker TSMC said it could catch up with car demand in June. But Mr. Armstrong said that was too ambitious. Ford, BMW, and Volkswagen all stressed they had production bottlenecks and couldn’t buy enough chips needed to build cars. Research firm Gartner predicts the chip crisis will continue until 2021, not to mention chip prices also increase. Analyst Alan Priestley said the situation could improve for some sectors in the next six months, but there could also be a “chain effect” into 2022. The semiconductor industry is doing everything to increase productivity but need time. In fact, Intel announced to spend $ 20 billion for two new chip factories in Arizona, USA. According to Mr. Priestley, it will take two to three years for these plants to operate but it will meet future demand. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of German chip maker Infineon, said last week that it “clearly takes time” until supply and demand balance. According to Wenzhe Zhao, Credit Suisse’s director of global economics and strategy, the recent chip crisis has encouraged inventory stockpiling in the supply chain, leading to a widening supply-demand gap. Not much can be done to solve the current situation, he said, except to adjust orders, production schedules and prices. Du Lam (According to CNBC)

Industry “commanders” in the US have voiced the warning of serious consequences caused by the global shortage of chips. Photo: AFP Semiconductor chip supplies have been in short supply for months and the situation shows no sign of abating, prompting insiders to visualize it into the chipageddon crisis. It is a combination of ‘microchip’ (semiconductor chip) and ‘armageddon’ (which excessively means war of destruction). Mr. Glenn O’Donnell, deputy research director at consulting firm Forrester believes that the thirst for semiconductor chips could last until 2023. “As demand will continue to increase while supply will remain limited, We expect this shortfall to continue into 2022 and into 2023, “commented Glenn O’Donnell on his blog. According to the expert’s argument, demand for computers – products using the most advanced chips – will slightly decrease next year but not by much, but data centers, where the machines are located. will be the chip-eaters next year. Mr. Glenn O’Donnell explained: “The deviceization of things is an irresistible trend, coupled with the continued growth of cloud computing and cryptocurrency mining, we see nothing but a boom. short-term explosion on chip demand “. Meanwhile, Mr. Patrick Armstrong, Information Technology Director of Plurimi Investment Managers Fund commented on CNBC that the global shortage of chips will last 18 months. “Not just the auto industry. It’s the phone. It’s also the IoE [một khái niệm kết nối rộng hơn Internet vạn vật (IoT), xoay quanh 4 yếu tố chính: Con người (People), sự vật (Things), dữ liệu (Data) và quá trình (Process)]. There are a lot more products that use chips now than before. “” All of them are connected to the internet, “said Patrick Armstrong. The auto industry has been most adversely affected by the global thirst for chips. Earlier this month, the world’s largest chip maker TSMC (Taiwan) said it could meet the chip demand of the auto industry next June. However, Mr. Armstrong said that this statement by TSMC is too ambitious. “If you listen to Ford, BMW, and Volkswagen, they all claim that there are bottlenecks in capacity and they can’t get the chips needed to build new cars,” Armstrong argued. Meanwhile, Gartner Consulting and Information Technology Research is more optimistic that chip shortages will last throughout 2021, affecting all chip lines and pushing chip prices higher. Gartner analyst Alan Priestley said that chip shortages could improve in some sectors / areas over the next six months, but could continue into 2022. “It (chip shortage – Editor)) will not last any longer, “said Alan Priestley. “The semiconductor industry is increasing capacity, but it still takes time,” he said. In fact, in March Intel announced plans to spend $ 20 billion on two new chip factories in the state of Arizona. The group also said it could build a factory in Europe if it could raise funds for public investment. “Those things will take two or three years before we start realizing their effect,” said Alan Priestley, who said that the investment plans could actually meet demand for semiconductors in future. Mr. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of chip maker Infineon (Germany) last week said that the semiconductor industry is in the region without privileges; at the same time warned to rebalance the demand and supply of semiconductors “obviously will take time”. “I think two years is too long, but we are sure that the current situation will extend into 2022,” said Ploss. “I think the additional capacity will be realized… Hopefully the situation will be more balanced in the next calendar year,” added the German CEO. Wenzhe Zhao, director of the global strategy and economics division at Credit Suisse, said that the shortage in chip supply led to speculation on chip-making hoarding and widening the gap. amid increasing chip demand and supply remains stagnant. According to Wenzhe Zhao, the new semiconductor manufacturing capacity will not be effective until 2022 or later. Wenzhe Zhao noted that there is little action he can do to address the shortage of semiconductors, aside from adjusting orders, production schedules and prices.

On May 10, celebrity leaker Jon Prosser shared a series of renders of the MacBook Air 2021. According to MacRumors, it was designed by Renders by Ian based on a series of leaked images that Prosser had. Based on the photo, the MacBook Air 2021 will be available in many of the same colors as the 24-inch iMac released at the end of April. Prosser’s sources confirm the blue and green colors on the MacBook Air 2021, but there will be some more colors to sync with the 24-inch iMac. This leaker used to accurately predict information about the colorful iMac, using the M1 chip. In addition to the color, the design of the MacBook Air 2021 also has a change with the same square edge as the MacBook Pro, instead of the thin bevel as the previous generation. This design makes the machine no longer slim, but still thinner than the MacBook Pro. Similar to the 24-inch iMac, the MacBook Air 2021 has a white bezel that is significantly thinner than previous generations. Prosser does not know the exact size and thinness of the border. The Magic Keyboard on the MacBook Air 2021 is also white, the larger row of function keys makes the trackpad size shrink. The power button in the upper right corner is integrated with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, placed in a circle like the keyboard attached to the new iMac. The MacBook Air 2021 can have two USB-C ports, one on each side. According to Prosser, this render does not have a MagSafe charging port because it does not appear in the leaked design. However, before that, Bloomberg said that this year’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro will re-integrate the MagSafe magnet charging port. The underside of the MacBook Air 2021 also has a change with 2 rubber feet along the sides, there are no longer 4 round legs at the 4 corners like the old versions. The rubber feet are gray, while the aluminum underside is the same color as the machine. Rumors say the MacBook Air 2021 will arrive in the second half of this year. The device can use the M2, the processor chip developed by Apple with some upgrades compared to the M1. At the end of April, Nikkei said that Apple M2 has been put into mass production by TSMC, expected to ship as early as July to equip new MacBook models. Apple used to launch a variety of colors. The company has introduced a number of lines of iPod, iPhone with colorful colors. Last September, the iPad Air got a colorful upgrade before reaching the iMac line in April. Apple’s cheapest device is incredibly durable To test the durability of AirTag, CNET ran several tests by placing it in a washing machine, freezing and dropping it.

This small square actually stuck the throat of countless cutting-edge industries in our country and became the Achilles heel of the technology giants. In 2021, 36Kr will launch a series of industry observations on the “Xin Journey” series. This series will conduct a comprehensive in-depth study on the upstream and downstream of the semiconductor industry, including manufacturing giants, equipment suppliers, material suppliers, and chip design companies that continue to break through the limits of Moore’s Law. We hope that our content can provide some reference and reference for the Chinese industry that is plagued by “core shortage”. TSMC was deified. Against the background of trade frictions and global core shortages, this Taiwanese foundry has suddenly become the focus of the world. Its every move has been deconstructed and re-read, and it has become a popular quotation-style truth. This article will invite TSMC to the altar to restore the three important battles on the road of TSMC’s “Fengshen”, and restore how it overcomes difficulties step by step. After thousands of day and night struggles, it will finally come to today. 1. Brothers fight against the wall for twenty years TSMC’s first enemy is UMC, one of its compatriots. UMC and TSMC were also born in the “Taiwan Institute of Industrial Technology”. Since its establishment in 1995, until around 2010, UMC has remained firmly on the throne of the world’s second largest semiconductor foundry company, and launched three stunning blitzkriegs against TSMC in 1997, 1999, and 2001. . Zhang Zhongmou in his youth TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou is 16 years older than UMC founder Cao Xingcheng. Zhang Zhongmou has been studying at Harvard and MIT since he was a teenager. After joining Texas Instruments, he has been soaring all the way. He has not only reached the top position of Texas Instruments’ global third-ranking position within 25 years, but also has a close relationship with Jack Kilby and Andrew Grew. The semi-conductor god-level figures like Andrew Grove have very close personal relations, and they are always happy, talking and laughing. In 1976, the Industrial Technology Research Institute sent staff to RCA in the United States to study semiconductor technology. Cao Xingcheng (first from left). Source: Industrial Technology Research Institute In contrast, Cao Xingcheng is a native Taiwanese man. When he was studying in Taipei in his early years, Cao Xingcheng also lived in a tin hut with tricycle drivers due to family constraints, and watched the world. After graduation, Cao Xingcheng became a civil servant, and then transferred to the newly established “Taiwan Industrial Research Institute Electronics Department”, and in 1976 was given the opportunity of the Industrial Technology Research Institute to study semiconductor technology in the United States. After returning to Taiwan, China coincided with the establishment of the first semiconductor factory in Taiwan by the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Lianhua Electronics, Cao Xingcheng volunteered to become the first deputy general manager of Lianhua Electronics, and was promoted to general manager within two years due to his outstanding achievements. The difference in growth experience gave the two completely different personalities. Zhang Zhongmou is serious and calm, and prefers management talents with a background of studying abroad. Taiwan media commented on him as “drinking red wine, smoking cigar, and being a gentleman.” And Cao Xingcheng acted eclectic, loyal, courageous, and extremely good at using financial leverage to kill and annex, quite a bit of a chaotic world. The two have been married for a long time, but they have also been grudges for a long time. Who would say that TSMC was “the first company in history to propose a foundry model”, Cao Xingcheng was the first to oppose it. In 1984, the 37-year-old Cao Xingcheng issued a plan for “Expanding UMC” to Zhang Zhongmou, who was in the United States, which not only elaborated on the upcoming new era of integration in the semiconductor industry, but also It is the first time to put forward the concept of “foundry”. However, Zhang Zhongmou did not reply to Cao Xingcheng. In the following year, Zhang Zhongmou was invited by Sun Yunv, “Jiang Jingguo’s successor”, to leave the United States and came to the “Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute” as the dean, becoming Cao Xingcheng’s immediate boss. And what surprised Cao Xingcheng was, In the third year, Zhang Zhongmou unexpectedly announced the founding of TSMC, the “first foundry in history”, without mentioning Cao Xingcheng’s plan. The Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit (VLSI) plant of the Industrial Technology Research Institute leased by TSMC in 1987. Source: Industrial Technology Research Institute Cao Xingcheng’s anger can be imagined. However, at this time, Zhang Zhongmou was not only the dean of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the chairman of TSMC, but also the chairman of UMC and the direct leader of Cao Xingcheng. Cao Xingcheng has nowhere to complain. In 1991, after Cao Xingcheng finally joined other directors in a letter to remove Zhang Zhongmou’s chairmanship, Cao Xingcheng directly criticized Zhang Zhongmou’s “plagiarism” and “misappropriation” in public, but he never received a response from TSMC or Zhang Zhongmou. In an interview, Cao Xingcheng even said angrily: “ At the beginning, the government probably trusted people with white hair, so it was handed over to Mr. Zhang, whose hair was whiter than me, to execute. . ” Established in 1980, UMC is the earliest IDM manufacturer in Taiwan, China, with both hands on chip design and manufacturing. In July 1995, UMC announced the divestiture of all semiconductor design businesses to focus on foundry manufacturing. Since then, the well-known MediaTek in the industry was spun off from UMC that year. ( The peak of history was slashed by market value, and the iron-blooded manager turned the tide, and it made crazy in the 5G era | ) Cao Xingcheng’s vicious judgment on the development of the industry can be seen as early as more than ten years ago. This person is easy to read history, happy and elegant, and is best at playing Go. His commercial methods seem to be a big deal, but in fact, he calculates accurately and does everything step by step. In 1995, the United States regained the world’s first throne in semiconductors, and South Korea rose against the trend. Although Japan was particularly defeated, the global semiconductor industry entered a new cycle of tight production capacity. It is the best time for UMC to announce its full venture into foundry. In order to compete with TSMC, which has been running for eight years, Cao Xingcheng immediately thought of a differentiated strategy that is deeply tied to customers. From July to September, Cao Xingcheng united 11 IC design companies from the United States and Canada. Under the huge capital operation of up to 3 billion US dollars, the three major foundries of Liancheng, Lianrui, and Lianjia were established. , Suddenly became a tendency to lean on the corner. This kind of group style of big investment, big territory, and interest binding has since become UMC’s fist style. In the following two years, UMC continued to make moves, mergers and acquisitions, shareholdings, factories, going to sea, and digging for customers. They were pressing everywhere, and it was almost out of breath to catch up with TSMC. According to media reports, in June 1997, TSMC announced that it would spend NT$400 billion to expand its production capacity, and UMC immediately announced an additional NT$500 billion to invest. In August, UMC’s 8-inch wafer foundry, Lianrui, was officially put into operation. The next month’s production capacity rushed to 30,000 wafers. The prospects were so good that the general manager of UMC Xuan Mingzhi was interviewed by Taiwanese media in early October. Confidently announced to reporters-“UMC will kill TSMC within two years!” However, just a few days later, in a two-and-a-half-hour-long fire, the brand-new Lianrui factory was equipped with tens of billions of equipment and tens of thousands of crystals that were still being processed on the production line. Round, all torch. It is said that the fire was caused by the accidental construction of UMC’s contractors. At that time, the entire Hsinchu Park was covered with black smoke clouds, and the fire tongue burned the walls of the brand-new factory building. According to statistics after the event, this sudden fire caused UMC to directly lose tens of billions of NT dollars, and orders of more than 2 billion yuan could not be executed. What’s more serious is that UMC therefore missed the excellent market of semiconductor global recovery, and the loss was immeasurable. Success requires strength, contacts, and even a little bit of luck. The sky does not follow people’s wishes, but Cao Xingcheng wants to change his fate against the sky. Beginning in 1998, UMC started a new round of mergers and acquisitions. During this period, UMC successively acquired a 15% stake in Hetai Semiconductor and jointly invested US$3.6 billion with Infineon to build a new plant in Singapore. In 1999, Cao Xingcheng relied on his superb capital operation ability and amazing negotiation skills, and at an ultra-low price of 400 million New Taiwan dollars, the 16 billion assets of Japan’s Nippon Steel Semiconductor Company were acquired, which shocked the entire semiconductor industry. In the same year, Cao Xingcheng announced again that UMC would merge with its four UMC Tigers (Liancheng, Unirui, Unitech, and Hetai) to form the “UMMC Group”. The combined UMC not only occupied more than 40 global foundries in one fell swoop. % Of the market share, its output value directly rushed to the world’s third, second only to Intel and TSMC. In addition to the two-pronged approach of production capacity and scale, UMC has also made rapid progress in technology. Historically, it was the first manufacturer to introduce a copper process to produce wafers, the first to produce 12-inch wafers, and the first 65nm chip. The technology gap with TSMC has been shortening, approaching the world’s number one. In the two blitz battles in 1997 and 1999, UMC lost one and the other lost. Time came to 2001. With China’s accession to the WTO, 9.6 million square kilometers of market space opened up, and massive semiconductor demand flooded into the market. Cao Xingcheng, with a keen sense of smell, immediately realized that this was the overtaking opportunity that UMC had been waiting for for many years. “ The battlefield to compete with TSMC is none other than Mainland China. “Cao Xingcheng said excitedly. However, at this time, the Taiwan authorities have been strictly controlling local chip manufacturers to invest in the mainland on the grounds of avoiding the outflow of advanced technology and job opportunities. In order to grab this piece of fat that was delivered to the mouth, in April 2002, UMC bypassed the Taiwan authorities and quickly reached a cooperation with Shanghai Belling and announced a joint investment in the construction of an 8-inch wafer fab in Zhangjiang, Shanghai. In November, UMC cleverly used the curve investment method to form a joint venture with Wuxi Shanghua Semiconductor to build an 8-inch wafer fab “Hejian Technology” with a $1 billion investment. However, in the second year, TSMC obtained the qualification to invest and build factories in the mainland approved by the Taiwan authorities, but UMC’s approval was delayed. The above-mentioned cooperation can only be carried out in the form of “under-the-table cooperation”. If all goes well, UMC will fight with TSMC in their last life and death battle on mainland China. But just like the factory fire that caught off guard in 1997, fate once again made a little joke on Cao Xingcheng. In 2004, the result of the election of the leader of China’s Taiwan region was announced, and Chen Shuibian took office. For many years, Cao Xingcheng has always advocated that the mainland and Taiwan should coexist peacefully. In this election, it is natural to oppose Chen Shui-bian’s various measures. Cao Xingcheng has an outspoken personality and has always spoken boldly in public. He did not comment in the unexpected world, and naturally he did not take this matter to heart. Who would have thought that on February 15, 2005, on the afternoon of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the “Taiwan Inspection Department” suddenly dispatched more than 120 celebrities and horses to conduct a lightning surprise inspection of the residences and offices of several UMC executives , And stated that UMC is suspected of providing illegal support to China Hejian Technology. Since then, the protracted and sensational “Heship Case” on both sides of the mainland has officially kicked off. Cao Xingcheng was interviewed by the media after the outbreak of the “Hejian case”, source: CRNTT After UMC was searched by the authorities, Cao Xingcheng issued open letters to employees and the media several times. His words became sharper and sharper. He pointed out that the search was a misguided action by the public power. He even named the National Taiwan Jiaotong University where the prosecutor Chen Ronglin was studying. The Science and Law Institute is sponsored by its competitor TSMC. For more than a year after that, UMC was procrastinated again and again by this case, and fined again and again. Cao Xingcheng’s refusal to accept defeat only resulted in greater suppression by public power agencies. The Taiwan authorities deliberately established the “Heship Case” as a typical case of restricting cross-strait economic and trade cooperation, and continued to harass UMC up and down. In December 2005, UMC’s stock price plunged, and the company was clouded and misty. On December 29, 2005, just two days before the new year, Cao Xingcheng finally surrendered. In order to preserve the UMC, for which he has devoted 20 years of hard work, Cao Xingcheng announced in an open letter that he would resign as chairman and director and cut all ties with UMC. One year later, the Hsinchu District Court in Taiwan ruled that the prosecutors against UMC did not find out the situation in detail, nor did it have a professional unit appraisal. The court could not adopt evidence as evidence, UMC was not guilty, and Cao Xingcheng was not guilty. However, after this battle, UMC completely lost its position to compete with TSMC for the global leader. In 2018, it announced that it would abandon the investment in advanced processes below 12nm and focus on mature markets. From 1995 to 2005, UMC and TSMC have been fighting for 20 years and launched a blitzkrieg three times, but every time UMC is about to catch up with TSMC, it will always be blocked by other factors. This is not good luck, but it is also because UMC has natural shortcomings in the fields of standardization and internationalization. Compared with UMC, TSMC’s management is much more “foreign”, and most of them not only have doctoral degrees from overseas universities, but also There is no shortage of executives from international chip giants. Since then, Cao Xingcheng devoted himself to art collection, and never dealt with commercial affairs. Cao Xingcheng concentrated on art collection in his later years, regardless of commercial sources. Picture: Wuzhen Cultural Lecture Hall At the time of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Cao Xingcheng also auctioned off his collection of Qianlong pen holders and donated money to the earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan. 2. Sluggish and bloated, “big company disease” budding In 2005, his old rival Cao Xingcheng retired, and Zhang Zhongmou, who was much older than him, had already planned to retire. At this time, TSMC’s second enemy quietly appeared. However, this enemy does not come from the outside, but from the growing volume of TSMC itself. As UMC was caught in the quagmire of the lawsuit, seeing that the general situation was over, in May of the same year, 74-year-old Zhang Zhongmou officially resigned from the CEO position and handed TSMC to the “prince” Cai Lixing, who was personally trained by him. He retired and went home to serve flowers. Make tea and spend your retirement leisurely. Cai Lixing, source: TSMC Cai Lixing is relieved. This Cornell University materials engineering postdoctoral fellow joined the company when TSMC was established only two years ago. He led the creation of the first 8-inch factory in TSMC’s history. He was a great minister of TSMC’s early expansion of territory and Zhang Zhongmou’s confidant love. will. Although a full 20 years younger than Zhang Zhongmou, Cai Lixing and Zhang Zhongmou not only have similar experiences, but also have similar personalities and growth environments. Cai Lixing was born in a bureaucratic family. His father Cai Tong_ was the chairman of the “Taiwan Stock Exchange”, while Zhang Zhongmou’s father was the Finance Director of Yin County, Ningbo City, and his mother was a descendant of Xu Shidong, a famous book collector in Qing Dynasty in Ningbo. In addition to school and work experience, the two are most similar to each other in character and behavior. Zhang Zhongmou acts rigorously, has a strong style, and requires perfection in everything; Cai Lixing is even more “iron-blooded and strong.” In the industry, he runs the factory as a leader. Once the goal is set, the mission will be achieved without obstacles. Since defeating UMC and winning a beautiful technology battle on the 0.13 micron copper process, TSMC has gradually embarked on the fast lane of development. At this time, Zhang Zhongmou thought that he could safely hand over power to Cai Lixing, so he retreated to the second line. However, within two years of his birthday, the flames of war once again burned to his door. As TSMC has invested more and more in technology research and development, how to maintain profit margins while still attracting customers has become TSMC’s most troublesome thing. The situation in the harvest year is acceptable, but once the disaster year comes, the pressure on TSMC will suddenly increase. In 2007, the subprime mortgage crisis swept the world, and the semiconductor industry was not immune. In the context of the global financial tightening, TSMC has had to cut prices year after year and its gross profit margin has fallen all the way to get an order in the hands of customers whose wallets are getting tighter and tighter. In order to further reduce costs and increase gross profit, under the auspices of CEO Cai Lixing, TSMC has not only suspended the procurement of advanced 40nm technology and equipment, but also adopted extremely aggressive layoff measures-the bottom 5% of the employees in the performance ranking were directly dismissed and not retained. Any leeway. At the same time, when the market gradually recovered and the foundry capacity began to appear short, TSMC increased prices in response to “persuade” many old customers. According to Taiwanese media reports, at that time a major TSMC US customer stated that he could not accept the decision to increase prices and began to cultivate the second and third foundry suppliers to prevent another single supplier from being stuck in the future. Neck, and had to accept the price increase. All this, Zhang Zhongmou saw in his eyes and anxious in his heart. Today’s TSMC has grown from a small fab with less than a few hundred people to a behemoth with more than 20,000 employees and businesses all over the world. The flow of personnel, project management, and technology inheritance have all become problems on the road to development. In April 2009, Zhang Zhongmou, who has been decentralized for a long time, rarely appeared at TSMC’s annual business conference. He criticized harshly throughout the entire process, even saying “Tighten your skin! If this goes on, TSMC will die.” All the executives were silent. As the situation continued to ferment, in June of that year, Zhang Zhongmou stepped in strongly, not only publicly announcing the re-hiring of all laid-off employees, but also personally removing Cai Lixing’s CEO title, entering the “cold palace” and changing to the general manager of the new business organization. Zhang Zhongmou announced the removal of Cai Lixing’s CEO position. Picture source: Business Weekly 78-year-old Zhang Zhongmou re-emerged and once again carried the banner of TSMC. After the return, the first thing Zhang Zhongmou did was to declare that the previous layoffs were invalid. TSMC’s door will be opened for all employees who wish to return. And not only is it not layoffs, TSMC will also increase its personnel R&D investment, spending $1 billion in R&D funding, and there is only one condition, “spend it out as soon as possible”-you know, TSMC’s total revenue in 2009 was only 90. One hundred million U.S. dollars. Technology upgrades, customers return, and people’s hearts are united again. In particular, the Gate-Last technology that TSMC has invested heavily in research and development has overwhelmed its competitors and has become a key node for the company to dominate the industry in the 28nm process. Zhang Zhongmou’s return has strangled TSMC’s “big company disease” in its infancy. Cai Lixing is not incapable-a few years later, he will airborne the position of co-CEO to save another Taiwanese chip manufacturer from the brink of life and death, and he has achieved great success. It’s just that Zhang Zhongmou’s “Day 1” “We are only 30 days away from bankruptcy” and the sense of urgency that first-generation entrepreneurs like Zhang Zhongmou have, as well as the “paranoia” of rejecting public opinion, ignoring financial performance, and sticking to our own opinions, are all occupations It is difficult for managers to possess. This battle is almost a narrow victory. If it is later, TSMC is about to usher in the most powerful opponent in its life, a behemoth with a wealth of enemies-Samsung. 3. The Giant Samsung and the “rebel” Liang Mengsong Samsung is the largest conglomerate in South Korea. This large-scale company founded and controlled by the Lee family for nearly 90 years has nearly 100 subsidiary companies involved in many fields such as electronics, medical care, life, finance, construction, and hotels. Especially in the electronics industry, Samsung Group’s tentacles extend all the way up and down the industrial chain, including multiple key components such as screens, batteries, lenses, sensors, etc., relying on technology monopoly to make huge profits. Moreover, the Samsung Group’s acting style is very “Korean”, and my country’s mobile phone and TV industries have been squeezed by it. During the 1985-1987 Japan-U.S. trade war, Japan and the U.S. fought in the semiconductor field. Samsung made a profit and hollowed out Japan’s memory chip talents in one fell swoop. In the next few years, it will rapidly reduce market prices, with strong capital strength. Overcoming its opponents, it became the number one in the memory chip market in 1993 and the number one in the flash memory chip market in 2003, and has been dominating the market ever since. The smoke on the Japanese battlefield has not yet cleared, and Samsung has aimed at the next victim. According to a 2013 report by Taiwanese media “Today”, during the 2008 global subprime mortgage crisis, Samsung’s top management after many conspiracies finally decided to target Taiwan, China, the rising IT star. In order to seize the market share of Taiwan, Samsung has formulated a meticulous “Kill Taiwan (Eliminate Taiwan)” plan, which targeted the Taiwanese electronics industry and dumped the market. In the past few years, it has gradually crushed Taiwan’s electronics industry. The storage, panel, and mobile phone industries are triumphant along the way. And the lucrative foundry, naturally, can’t escape Samsung’s clutches. Due to the high investment in early-stage technology of the foundry, the smart Samsung did not have a head-on conflict with TSMC as soon as it came up, but cleverly chose the segment of the high-end market. Huang Chang-kyu, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business unit, also repeatedly emphasized in an interview with the media that Samsung’s foundry is mainly for high-end chip products, which is not the same as TSMC’s positioning. In 2009, it was a turning point for everything. During this year, three major events occurred: 1. The 78-year-old Zhang Zhongmou returned to TSMC and removed the “prince” Cai Lixing, and put on the CEO shirt again. 2. The “Hummingbird” mobile phone chip jointly developed by Apple, Samsung, and Intrinsity is available and produced by Samsung. This mobile phone chip is the proud work of Apple and Samsung. With it, Apple has produced the first generation iPad and iPhone4 that shocked the world, and Samsung has launched its famous smart phone, the Galaxy S i9000, which has become popular all over the world. . (For details, please refer to Apple’s Thirty Years of Core Manufacturing | Core Journey) Samsung’s foundry business also broke through the $400 million mark in one fell swoop. 3. Liang Mengsong, the backbone of TSMC’s technology, ran away in anger, was successfully poached by Samsung and came to South Korea. In Taiwanese media reports for many years since then, Liang Mengsong has been dubbed the title of “Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s No. 1 Traitor.” In this battle, the joining of Liang Mengsong instantly knocked the balance of strength between TSMC and Samsung. Liang Mengsong is a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His tutor is Hu Zhengming, the inventor of the FinFET, who is world-famous in the semiconductor industry and has continued his life for TSMC for 20 years. In TSMC’s 16 years, Liang Mengsong led the team to lay a lot of key technical challenges, not only has a strong technical research and development capabilities, but also has a deep industry Know-How. According to Liang Mengsong’s colleagues, he was a technical madman, strong, demanding, quick-tempered, and outgoing and hot-tempered, and he liked to go it alone. This was common in the raging remarks of Liang Mengsong’s angry remarks from the CEO of SMIC last year. To this day, Liang Mengsong still retains the angular technical arrogance of an engineer, and he has a strong love and perseverance for advanced technology. Fang Shuhua, the former chief legal officer of TSMC, once lamented, “(Liang Mengsong) he has a kind of obsession. He thinks that the most advanced technology can be reused.” This is why, when TSMC’s R&D vice president was changed in 2006, Liang Mengsong found that not only was he not promoted to R&D vice president, but was transferred from the front line of advanced technology R&D and arranged to be responsible for the mature process production line of the “Beyond Moore” program. The reaction was extremely fierce, and even angrily denounced it as “overhead”, “demotion” and “freezing”, and finally ran away in anger. At this time, the eagerly awaited Samsung is eager to open its arms to welcome Liang Mengsong’s arrival. The annual salary of hundreds of millions of Taiwan dollars and the chartered delivery of special planes to and from get off work are only basic operations. More importantly, Samsung has given Liang Mengsong absolute control and broad development space, allowing him to focus on advanced technology with peace of mind. After Liang Mengsong, Huang Guotai, Xia Jinqiu, Zheng Junlong, Hou Yongtian, Chen Jianliang and other old units of TSMC have also been successfully poached by Samsung, forming a strong “Taiwan team” within Samsung. In just a few years, Samsung’s foundry technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. The foundries are seeing the key technology nodes of 45nm, 32nm, and 28nm being overcome by Samsung one by one, and the gap with TSMC is getting smaller and smaller. In 2009, Samsung’s foundry business was only US$400 million; in 2010, this number surged to US$1.2 billion, and in 2013 it reached an astonishing US$3.95 billion. The speed of its rise is staggering. By the time TSMC sensed the danger and began to sue Liang Mengsong with a competition agreement, it was already a bit late. At this time, under the leadership of Liang Mengsong, Samsung, all the way to triumph, made an extremely bold decision-skip 20nm, march directly to 14nm, rush to the world’s first 14nm before TSMC, and declare war head-on. In 2015, TSMC launched the 16nm process, but Samsung completed 14nm mass production half a year ago, and successfully snatched the $1 billion Apple A9 order that should have belonged to TSMC. At the same time, it grabbed a huge order for Qualcomm chips. No two, so brilliant. Taiwan media’s report on Liang Mengsong, source: Sanli Finance and Economics Channel With backward manufacturing processes and loss of customers, TSMC’s stock price began to collapse. Credit Suisse, CLSA, and other brokers that have always been optimistic about TSMC, began to downgrade TSMC’s investment rating. At the Falun Dafa Conference on January 15, 2015, Zhang Zhongmou reluctantly admitted, “Yes, we are a bit behind when asked by analysts.” This is the biggest crisis that TSMC has faced since its establishment-in the past few decades, it has never been so significantly behind in advanced manufacturing processes. At this time, Zhang Zhongmou is 84 years old, and the world is full of doubts. Will TSMC still win this battle? The answer is yes. In order to launch a technical battle, TSMC followed Foxconn’s example and implemented a 24-hour three-shift R&D system. The basic salary of the participants was increased by 30%, and the dividend was increased by 50%. All the staff were red-eyed, and there was only one goal-to defeat Samsung. After Cai Lixing, TSMC’s treatment plant was already known for its “iron blood”. Under the high pressure of this chicken blood, it has burst out astonishing combat power. Not only did the 16nm process yield linearly increase, it also opened 10nm at the end of 2015. Sample delivery certification of the process. At the same time, TSMC also carried out a protracted lawsuit against Liang Mengsong. Even if Liang Mengsong repeatedly emphasizes that he has not leaked TSMC’s core secrets and “absolutely abides by the non-competition regulations”, it is useless. The major “presiding courts” in Taiwan, China, have made their stand on the team clear from the beginning. The presiding judge of the second instance, Xiong Songmei, even bluntly said, “(Taiwan) can have several large companies? If we don’t protect them (TSMC) ), who do you want to protect?” Just as Liang Mengsong was overwhelmed by the litigation, Samsung’s 14nm process was also the first to run, and there were obvious problems with yield and power consumption control, and even the iPhone6s “chip gate” incident, which caused Apple’s subsequent A9 additional orders to flow back to TSMC. In hand. Since then, Liang Mengsong has been troubled by litigation and said goodbye to Samsung, and was invited to join SMIC in 2017 as the CEO. In this round, TSMC once again narrowly won. However, to this day, Samsung still has not given up on the pursuit of TSMC. In 2016, Korean media reported that Samsung promised Qualcomm to carry the Snapdragon 830 chip in its Galaxy S8, provided that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 830 orders will be produced by Samsung. In 2019, Samsung desperately lowered prices, rushed to order TSMC, and has successfully won orders from Nvidia. Li Zai F (second from left) visits the Dutch ASML factory in Eindhoven. Source: Samsung In October last year, the actual controller of Samsung Group Li Zai F personally flew to the Dutch headquarters of the lithography machine giant ASML, and was personally received by the CEO and CTO of ASML. The two parties further discussed cooperation in 5nm, 3nm, and even more advanced processes. opportunity. The gunpowder has not stopped, and the war continues. end Looking back at TSMC’s 40 years of ups and downs, these three major battles happened to divide TSMC’s growth into three stages. In the early stages of growth, the Yuliang dispute between TSMC and UMC just promoted the explosion of the first generation of foundry technology. UMC’s aggressive “arms expansion competition” has accumulated a rich material foundation for TSMC’s future global dominance. In the mid-growth period, as the corporate organization became bloated and the “big company disease” quietly breeded, TSMC promptly killed it in its budding state and was not bound by financial statements. It strengthened the foundation of technology and established the long-term development of TSMC. The cultural foundation. In the later stages of its growth, when TSMC truly stood on the global stage, facing the wealthy and powerful chaebol giants, it not only re-cleared the research and development system, but also used international political relations to the point of success, leading the foundry industry in Taiwan to succeed. After Samsung’s “precision blasting”, we are on the road to global hegemony. Sometimes you should be most thankful for your enemies. Reference materials: 1. “Cao Xingcheng Cao Mang: “Song Jiang” in Taiwan’s Science and Technology Circle” Lianhe Zaobao 2. “Cao Xingcheng: The “Political Stick” of Taiwan’s IT Hero” China Jingwei Net 3. “Exquisite: Did Samsung steal TSMC technology? 》Write some popular science 4. “TSMC at the forefront of history: two high walls, one sharp knife” Yuanchuan Research Institute 5. “United Microelectronics Group: The Road to the UMC” Oriental Entrepreneur 6. “Hunting and Killing Rebel Generals: Revealing the Secret of TSMC Liang Mengsong’s Role in Samsung” Commonwealth Magazine 7. “Samsung De-Taiwan Plan Decryption: Kill DRAM/Panels and Attack Hon Hai/TSMC” CTIMES 8. “Four Reasons for Zhang Zhongmou’s Replacement of Cai Lixing, Back to the Inside Story” Taiwan Hai.com

IBM’s 2 nm chip had a density of 333 million transistors per square millimeter. By comparison, TSMC’s most advanced chip with a 5 nm process has about 173 million transistors, while Samsung’s 5 nm chip is 127 transistors per square millimeter. Billions of transistors are found on each microprocessor, and the size of the transistor is measured in nanometers. The smaller the size, the more transistors the processor can hold, making it faster and more energy efficient. IBM successfully built a chip with a size of only 2 nm but the most powerful in the world. Most of the processor chips found on personal computers or smartphones today are manufactured using a 7 nm or 10 nm process. For example, the 7-nm Apple A13 Bionic chip has 8.5 billion transistors. Meanwhile, the A14 Bionic microprocessor manufactured on a 5 nm process is integrated with 11.8 billion transistors. More transistors on a chip give manufacturers more options to deliver core innovations, to improve performance for leading tasks like AI and cloud computing, and pave the way for security. Cryptography and encryption are hardware-enforced. The need to increase performance and save energy in every processor has never cooled, especially in the era of the cloud, AI and IoT. The 2 nm chip technology is estimated to achieve 45% higher efficiency, 75% lower energy use than the advanced 7nm chips currently on the market.

A solar power plant in Maryland, USA. (Photo: AFP / VNA) A unit of the company Samsung C&T is considering investing $ 673 million in the construction of solar power plants in Texas (USA), to start commercial production in December 2023. The solar facilities above will be located in Milam County, Texas, less than two hours ‘drive from Samsung Electronics’ chip factory in Austin. Austin is where Samsung is considering building a new $ 17 billion chip factory. With a capacity of about 700 MW, solar power plants will begin construction in June 2022. A Samsung C&T official said the company is doing the approval procedures with the authorities. The attractiveness of solar and wind power is increasing rapidly as nations around the world switch from fossil fuels to cleaner renewable sources to prevent global warming. The administration of US President Joe Biden aims to generate electricity from non-carbon sources such as nuclear and renewable energy by 2035. Recently, South Korean President Moon Jae-in also pledged to end all new funding for overseas coal projects and will soon come up with a more ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions. . In October, Samsung C&T Corp announced its decision to suspend any new projects or investments related to coal. While chip makers like Samsung Electronics, Intel and TSMC are also committed to increasing the use of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions.

Semiconductor chips are an important component of modern electronics that can be found in thousands of products used every day, including cars, computers, smartphones and medical devices … These chips are the brains of all electronic devices, performing functions ranging from repetitive tasks like memory and microprocessors, to complex tasks like intelligence. artificial and high-end graphics. Semiconductor chips, which have a relatively low price, have suddenly become a scarce commodity. Jordan Wu, co-founder and CEO of Himax Technologies Co., told Bloomberg: “I’ve never seen anything like this in the past 20 years, since the company was founded. Every industry lacks chips ”. President Joe Biden with the chip model in a press conference at the White House, before signing an executive order to prevent a shortage of semiconductor supplies with the US economy, on 24/2. Photo: REUTERS The global chip crisis is believed to have been rooted in a miscalculation when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out last year. With the epidemic spreading from China to the globe, many companies predict that consumers will reduce the time spent using technology equipment. However, when “stuck” in the home, consumers begin to buy more technology devices: Add laptops so their children can learn from afar; buy a handheld game machine, an oil-free fryer, a blender … to make life less boring. There has been a comparison to call the Covid-19 epidemic “a prolonged Black Friday event”.
Meanwhile, car manufacturers were also affected by the pandemic. They were forced to shut down factories during a period of social isolation, when demand declined because customers were unable to visit stores. They ask suppliers to stop shipping components, including chips, which are increasingly essential to cars. By the end of last year, consumers started going out but restricted the use of public transport. Automakers reopened and turned to chipmakers like TSMC (Taiwan), Samsung (South Korea), and of course had to wait in line. Chip makers have been unable to accommodate soaring demand for their very loyal customers.
The shortages are aggravated this year, due to a series of disruptions. For example, the Japanese Renesas Electronics chip factory caught fire, the drought in the “country of the chip” Taiwan (China), and the cold spell in Texas (USA) caused the factories of Samsung, NXP Semiconductors and Infineon there to temporarily stopped working. “Everything right now is no different from hell,” said Frank McKay, CPO of Jabil – a company that buys billions of dollars of chips each year to assemble products for customers including Apple, Amazon, Cisco Systems and Tesla – to speak. Every day, Frank said, his company faced a shortage of about 100 components and had to negotiate as hard as possible to get it.
The difficulty of manufacturers
Limited supply of semiconductor chips is not a new issue, but what has happened is often related to specific chips. Consumers around the globe now compete fiercely for a cheaper chip made in old factories, when it is a fact that these factories are difficult to upgrade.
For example, the supply of integrated microchips for automotive systems is particularly in short supply as they are typically manufactured on 8-inch wide silicon (wafer) discs, instead of more high-end 12-inch panels. But no company builds more production lines because they are not profitable. Sumco Corp – one of the leading wafer manufacturers, has reported production capacity of an 8-inch equipment line to be around 5,000 panels a month by 2020 – less than in 2017. The purchase of new equipment and Starting with lower productivity means producers’ costs go up.
Meanwhile, the US, Japan and Germany – the world’s largest car makers – are making moves to put pressure on major chipmakers in Asia, forcing them to prioritize chip lines. In-car use up above the needs of other customers, which include smartphone and computer makers. The governments of these three countries fear that the car industry will slow down, or even cut production due to lack of chips, threatening domestic jobs and economic recovery after the pandemic. However, according to insiders, the political pressure to force chipmakers to prioritize demand from carmakers only exacerbates the realities of the supply chain.
“We have to renegotiate with a number of customers and at the same time have to respond to requests from the government to prioritize the production of chips used in the car manufacturing industry, which plays an important role. “This is in contrast to before, when chip manufacturing on a first come first served basis”, said Mark Liu – Chairman of TSMC.
Just a bubble?
The technology war between the US and China, which took place before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, is also believed to have had negative effects on the supply chain. As Washington imposed restrictions on China’s Huawei Group’s access to key US technologies, it increased stockpiling of components as much as possible. Many other Chinese companies, which fear they will fall into the same situation, do the same way Huawei has. The result has spiked demand for chips and components.
On April 12, Huawei directly blamed the United States for indirectly causing a global crisis, arguing that Washington’s sanctions on Chinese technology companies have caused love. “panic procurement” of components and chips, causing supply chain disruptions. “Apparently unreasonable US sanctions against Huawei and other Chinese companies have created a component shortage across the industry, and this could completely cause a crisis. global ”- said Eric Xu – Huawei’s rotating chairman.
However, companies are still uncertain about the current “thirst” for chips. For them, great demand comes from a series of hedge orders, stockpiling efforts or even the determination to take market share from competitors, thereby creating the “semiconductor chip bubble” on market. TSMC President Liu acknowledged that most customers want to order more than twice as much as they need to minimize the risk of supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions.
“The current strong demand won’t last forever, because buyers won’t buy five phones or five cars at a time. I worry that there will be adjustments when one of the big players in the industry takes action, and orders will start to decline, ”a leader in the chip supply chain told Nikkei Asia. “I’ve never seen anything like this in the last 20 years since the company was founded. Every industry lacks chips.” – Co-Founder and CEO of Himax Technologies J ordan Wu

Illustration. Bkav Technology Group Chairman, in the information just shared on his personal page, said that before the “chip crisis” taking place around the world, Bkav had to collect and only collect a batch of 8,000 parts for AI View camera. Mr. Quang said that the world is having a dual-chip semiconductor crisis – Bkav Chairman acknowledges that he is an electronics manufacturer and an insider. According to Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang, the reason for saying that the double crisis is for two reasons at the same time leading to the scarcity. First, due to the trade war between the US and China, Huawei was punished. To survive, they (Huawei – PV) had to buy enough chips to use for two years, sources from Bkav’s partners said such data. Also because of the trade war, other Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and Oppo reserve the possibility of being punished as with Huawei, so they also try to collect chips. Other Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Oppo have been able to be punished like with Huawei, so they also try to collect chips. The second reason, according to Mr. Quang, the Covid-19 epidemic caused a social stagnation. Therefore, at the beginning of service manufacturers forecast low yields. They failed to anticipate the worldwide trends in work, study, distance conferencing, and home electronic entertainment. This led to a sudden increase in demand for computers and game consoles. The supply chain of the technology industry is very specialized in specialized assignment, emphasized Bkav Chairman. Accordingly, in terms of chips, almost all major chip design companies such as Qualcomm, MTK, and more recently Intel have hired TSMC or Samsung to mint chips for them. These two companies account for 81% of the world chip casting market and cannot increase production capacity immediately. Mr. Quang also said that Bkav is an original manufacturer, working directly with chip suppliers such as Qualcomm, Intel, Samsung, SKHynix. The Bkav leader shared that, with the most recent quotation from chip manufacturers to Bkav, many components have Standard Lead time, also known as standard delivery time, up to an unreasonable level of 10 months. Therefore, in order to overcome this situation, technology product manufacturers such as Bkav have had to gather products, make efforts to find around the world for partners to change their business plans and thus they have redundant lots. Event link is not used anymore “This purchase and sale is very bustling and there is a phenomenon of buying and selling”, said Bkav Chairman Nguyen Tu Quang. Specifically, last week, according to Mr. Quang, Bkav’s international purchasing team collected a batch of 8,000 components for AI View cameras. Mr. Quang said that this will take place every day and for a long time, possibly until next year, with all manufacturers of technology products around the world.

Compilation | Gao Ge

Edit | Heart Fate

Xindongxi reported on April 15 that according to Taiwan media reports, yesterday morning, TSMC Nanke’s Fab14 P7 plant suddenly went out of power. The industry estimated that 30,000 wafers were affected, and the loss amount was less than NT$1 billion (equivalent to RMB 230 million). .

The plant mainly produces electronic chips for automobiles, and this accident is undoubtedly worse for the chip shortage problem that needs to be solved in the near future.

TSMC responded that the reason for the power outage was the abnormal cable of the Nanke UHV substation. At present, the personnel in the plant are safe and sound. The diesel generators have been used to restore power and the company has cooperated with Taipower to restore normal power supply.

1. Sudden power failure caused 30,000 wafers, and the loss could reach NT$1 billion

According to Taiwan media reports, around 11:06 in the morning, the 161kV underground of the electricity supplier Taipower was accidentally damaged due to the construction of the new plant by Sanfu Gas adjacent to the Nanke plant. The cable caused the Nanke-Sanfu line to trip, causing a power outage.

Nanke’s Fab14 P7 plant mainly produces 12-inch wafers and is one of TSMC’s important bases for 40nm and 45nm process production.

▲ TSMC Fab14 P7 plant (Source: Google Maps)

Nanke practitioners pointed out that TSMC’s Fab14 plant was affected by today’s power outage. About 30,000 wafers will be affected, and the estimated loss will be less than NT$1 billion.

As for whether all will be scrapped, TSMC needs to wait for further evaluation. The number of scrapped wafers depends on the process conditions at the time. Some of them should be rescued. In addition, TSMC has insurance, and the actual loss should be further reduced.

But for customers, this is probably not good news, because the Fab14 P7 plant mainly produces automotive electronic chips, and the continuous shortage of such chips has seriously affected the production of the automotive industry.

In response to this, TSMC issued a statement: “TSMC’s wafer 14 P7 plant today caused a power outage in the plant due to abnormal cables at the Nanke ultra-high voltage substation. The colleagues in the plant have no safety concerns and no personnel have been evacuated. Currently, it has been rehabilitated by diesel generators. Power and Taipower will cooperate with Taipower to fully restore normal power supply. The actual impact will be clarified after normal power supply is restored.”

UMC Nanke’s 12-inch plant was also affected by the pressure drop, but UMC said that the plant area responded immediately and did not cause any impact on production and operation. In addition, Innolux, HannStar, Corning, and Nanmao all experienced pressure drop problems.

After emergency repairs, the power supply in the park has returned to normal, but the specific loss remains to be clarified.

1. Errors in electrical equipment have caused fires, and the use of electrical pressure has been difficult to understand

In fact, this is not the first time that TSMC has experienced power equipment abnormalities. On the morning of March 31 this year, TSMC’s Fab12 P6 plant caught fire due to overloading of substation equipment.

According to Taiwan media reports, at that time, TSMC’s outsourced personnel were performing maintenance on the plant’s substation equipment. The substation equipment suddenly emitted white smoke, and the fire-fighting equipment immediately activated carbon dioxide fire fighting.

During the fire extinguishing process, one construction worker was choked by carbon dioxide. In addition, there were no other casualties, and it did not cause much impact on the operation of TSMC’s production line.

Going back, on August 15, 2017, due to human error, the 815 blackout occurred in Taiwan, China, which has a wide range of effects. Some media said that at that time, the Taiwanese government provided all the surplus power to chip manufacturers such as TSMC to reduce their losses.

In fact, TSMC’s power problem has always existed. TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou has emphasized the power problem several times. He once said that the impact of power outages on TSMC is “almost impossible to estimate.”

Chip manufacturing is a huge resource-intensive industry. According to estimates by Greenpeace, TSMC’s electricity consumption accounts for nearly 5% of Taiwan’s total electricity consumption. According to the TSMC’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report, in 2019, TSMC’s global electricity consumption reached approximately 14.33 billion kWh, an increase of 5.412 billion kWh compared to five years ago. In 2019, Taiwan’s green energy power generation was 14 billion kWh, which can only be reached by TSMC alone. Usage.

When TSMC’s 3nm chip factory is launched, it is estimated that the power consumption of the 3nm factory alone will be as high as 7 billion kWh. According to data from Bloomberg industry research, due to the large-scale use of EUV lithography equipment for 5nm and 3nm, TSMC’s demand for electricity will double within 3 years. It is estimated that by the end of 2023, when TSMC’s 5nm and 3nm plants are operating at full speed, new circuit demand will be added. It will almost reach 98% of TSMC’s global electricity consumption in 2019.

Under such a large amount of electrical power, TSMC has also taken many actions, such as contracting wind farms, cooperating with equipment suppliers to develop “green machines”, and even TSMC has proposed a plan to build its own power plant, but it has not been approved. .

1. “Natural disasters” such as droughts and earthquakes have continued without significant impacts

In addition to power problems, natural disasters such as droughts and earthquakes in Taiwan have also affected TSMC.

According to media reports, TSMC’s annual water consumption is between 16 billion and 17 billion tons. Its 8-inch wafer production line consumes 250 cubic meters of water per hour, and the 12-inch wafer production line can consume 500 cubic meters of water per hour. hour.

Since October last year, Taiwan’s water supply situation has been relatively severe. At present, due to climate reasons, there are 7 of Taiwan’s 21 major reservoirs with a storage capacity of less than half. The dry season may extend to May this year.

To this end, companies in Taiwan’s Hsinchu, Miaoli, and Taichung regions need to reduce water consumption by 7% to 11%. In order to prevent the drought from affecting production, TSMC has begun to transport water through water carts to supply some of its facilities.

On Tuesday, according to Xinhua News Agency, the person in charge of the Taiwan Disaster Response Center stated that he hopes that through measures such as “five stop and two” district water supply, water will be sustainable until the rainy season arrives. The spokesperson also stated that the current production in Taiwan’s science parks and industrial parks has not been affected.

In addition to facing water shortages, TSMC also suffered two consecutive earthquakes within 2 months.

On December 11, 2020, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters of Yilan, Taiwan, and the earthquake was felt throughout Taiwan. On January 11 this year, another 5.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in Taiwan. In these two earthquakes, the earthquake intensity of TSMC’s northern plant reached 4, and some people were evacuated. TSMC stated that the two earthquakes “have not had a significant impact” on the company’s operations.

Conclusion: Chip production has been hit continuously, and costs may continue to rise

The high probability of a power outage in the TSMC power plant area will have a certain impact on chip production. Considering that the chip factories of Samsung, NXP, Infineon, etc., located in Austin, Texas, USA have also been shut down due to a snowstorm, the chip supply situation this year is not optimistic.

In this case, the chip supply problem, which is already in a tight supply, may be further fermented. If the demand for downstream applications remains high, the impact of a series of natural and man-made disasters on various chip factories may aggravate the imbalance between chip supply and demand, and the cost of chips will continue to rise.

Source: Taiwan Economic Daily, Taiwan United Daily News, Bloomberg News, Xinhua News Agency

The severe shortage of chips globally has forced many car, smartphone, laptop and home appliance manufacturers to cut production (Image: Source Today)

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, has just said the status chip supply shortage globally This could be extended until 2022. TSMC also said it is planning to invest an additional $ 100 billion over the next three years to increase the output of its existing 5mm chip and the 3mm is expected to be final test production this year to meet the increasing demand for chips around the world.

This TSMC plan is currently attracting the special attention of partners and customers such as Apple and Qualcomm. Mr. CC Wei, CEO of TSMC, said “We are hiring thousands of people and expanding our capabilities in multiple locations”.

Demand for chips, especially the next generation of chips, is booming as the trend of working from home becomes more common in the world under the effects of the pandemic, driving demand for electronics as smartphones and laptops soar.

The global shortage of chips has forced some automakers, smartphone makers, computer assemblers, and home appliance makers to cut production. . Auto maker General Motors and Ford announced plans last week to shut down plants in North America due to a shortage of chip supplies.

Meanwhile, TSMC’s profit in Q1 / 2021 reached $ 4.93 billion, up 19.4% year-on-year, much higher than observers’ forecast. TSMC forecasts 2/2021 revenue will range from $ 12.9 billion to $ 13.2 billion, compared with $ 10.38 billion in the same period last year. It also raised its 2021 revenue growth forecast to 20% from its previous forecast.

TSMC CEO CC Wei said that customers are increasingly looking to hoard more chips to ensure production stability due to geopolitical uncertainties and pandemics. Therefore, TSMC’s production activity is continuously in state “stress” during the past period. It is now increasing spending on research, development and manufacturing of new generation chips to about $ 30 billion this year, compared with $ 25 billion expected earlier this year.

Analysts now expect TSMC’s production expansion to soon meet demand for next-generation chips as 5G technology and artificial intelligence applications become more widely adopted.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger also shared concerns, saying that the shortage of chips in the world could last until after 2022 when demand is still outstripping production capacity. Semiconductor companies can implement some short-term solutions to ease the problem, but a full solution to the shortage problem will take longer, said Pat Gelsinger.

“I think it will take a few years until the problem is completely resolved. It takes a few years to build supply capacity.”, according to Mr. Pat Gelsinger.

US President Joe Biden holds an electronic chip during a discussion session on solving chip shortages of US businesses on February 24, 2021 (Image: Reuters)

Intel has been in discussions with auto parts manufacturers and suppliers about steps it can take to increase production of car chips in the coming months. The company also aims to start increasing the supply of additional chips within the next six to nine months. Last month, Intel announced that it would spend $ 20 billion to build two factories in the state of Arizona (USA).

Professor Willy Shih from Harvard Business School, which specializes in technology and manufacturing, says chip shortages are becoming more turbulent as manufacturers are ordering chips from multiple factories at the same time because of them. Not sure which order will be executed. Chaotic orders are leaving chipmakers uncertain where they will need to allocate supplies to meet actual demand in the short term.

In the United States, to secure more domestic chip supplies in the long term, President Joe Biden’s administration is proposing a $ 50 billion financing package to subsidize semiconductor manufacturing facilities. This proposal is currently receiving wide support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Mr. Tom Caulfield, CEO of semiconductor company GlobalFoundries said that they are calling for the US Government to support expansion of chip production in the country. About 12% of the world’s semiconductors are currently made in the United States, and Mr. Caulfield says he is campaigning to raise that number above 30%.

The US semiconductor industry argues that the federal government needs to provide more support to compete with other manufacturers in Asia. American semiconductor manufacturers often accuse Asian countries of financial support for regional manufacturers to expand production capacity.

Xinzhiyuan Report

Source: foreign media, etc.

Edit: LQ

【Xin Zhiyuan Guide】The chip war escalates again! Biden held a “chip summit” at the White House to discuss the “chip shortage” with the head of the company. White House officials said that transferring half of the chips needed by the United States to the country is a short-term goal. Yes, the chip must be “made in America”.

Last Thursday, the US Department of Commerce included seven Chinese supercomputer entities, including Tianjin Feiteng, on the “trade blacklist.”

After that, the market named one of the seven entities, “Tianjin Feiteng”, whose chips were made by TSMC. In this regard, TSMC said: The company has always followed all laws and regulations and will definitely implement it in accordance with export control regulations.

According to the news from the Taiwanese media “Economic Daily”, after the release of the latest export control list in the United States, TSMC’s internal “comprehensive inventory” mechanism was launched “the first time” to comply with laws and regulations and the system to “integrate with the international” direction, and continue to “dynamics” Responding to the updated US export control measures, and “stop accepting” orders that have been newly included in the sanctions of the entity list.

TSMC “stops taking orders”, will Feiteng become the second “HiSilicon”?

This time TSMC “stopped taking orders”, Tianjin Feiteng was suspended.

I can’t help but think of the “HiSilicon” that had the same experience. At that time, HiSilicon, which was in an expansion period, was included in the control list by the United States when it ranked among the top three customers of TSMC. The United States’ sanctions were tightening step by step, cutting off Huawei. Chip supply.

According to the supply chain, after TSMC’s internal inventory, Feiteng and other indirect orders placed through IC design companies, the annual output is less than 10,000 pieces. Last year, TSMC’s actual shipment of 12.398 million pieces was equivalent to 12-inch wafers. In terms of the proportion of TSMC’s total shipments, the indirect impact of Feiteng is estimated to be only about 0.08%, while the total impact of other adjustments is estimated to be less than 3%.

In other words, compared with HiSilicon, Feiteng accounts for TSMC’s film production ratio.

Although the shipments of Worldchip, an island company that supplies Feiteng IC designs, have been greatly affected. Its stock price has fallen to a limit for three consecutive days. This year, a quarter of its revenue will evaporate, but for TSMC, it is “not afraid.”

In the past two years, due to changes in US export control policies, TSMC has developed some “resilience.” Although many of its customers are concentrated in the consumer electronics field, in recent years it has also begun to strengthen management and control, such as signing commitment statements.

Recently due to the shortage of global chips, the seller’s market has been established. After TSMC stopped accepting orders from the newly included entity list sanctions, the vacated capacity was immediately filled by other customers in line, such as the serious shortage of in-vehicle chips. Not idle.

As of the end of last year, TSMC had 510 global customers with 1,617 product types, involving 281 process technologies such as advanced processes, special processes, and advanced packaging.

Sixty percent of the huge customer base is in the United States.

Needless to say, the US market is very important.

Biden’s “core disease”

For the United States, the importance of TSMC is self-evident.

For example, at the White House Chip Summit just held, Biden convened the heads of 19 major American companies to discuss how to alleviate the chip shortage.

Participating companies include not only Big tech, such as Google’s parent company Alphabet, but also aircraft manufacturer Northrom Grumman, automobile manufacturers General Motors and Ford Motor, and semiconductor key company Intel.

In addition, TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin was also invited to attend the conference.

At this “Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience CEO Summit”, Biden personally attended the meeting and brought Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimundo, Director of the National Economic Council Brian Dis and National Security Advisor Jack Shah. Liwen, with such specifications, it can also be seen that the White House attaches great importance to the chip.

At the meeting, Biden stated that he has received the support of the “bipartisan” in solving the semiconductor problem. He will urge Congress to invest US$50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research, which is part of his “US$2 trillion infrastructure plan.” Part.

“I have always emphasized that China and the world are not waiting, and the United States has no reason to wait. The United States is now focusing its capital investment in semiconductors, batteries and other fields-this is what others are doing, and we must do it too.” Biden said at the meeting. The media urged when part of the public announcement.

At the meeting, when referring to chips and wafers, Biden said that “this is all infrastructure.”

So, what did the big guys talk to the president?

The White House said in a statement that executives at the conference emphasized the importance of improving the transparency of the semiconductor supply chain to help alleviate current supply shortages and improve demand forecasts to help avoid future challenges.

The executives also discussed the “importance of encouraging increased semiconductor production capacity in the United States to ensure that we never face shortages again.”

Intel CEO Pat Kissinger said that it will start producing chips within “six to nine months” to solve the supply shortage that has caused the shutdown of some automobile factories in the United States.

National Security Advisor Sullivan said in a statement: “Trying to solve supply chain problems by taking some actions in a crisis will cause serious national security loopholes.” It is too late to wait for the crisis to be resolved. .

Although the specifications of this meeting were high, the president only “chat” with the executives. Regarding the issue of automakers and electronic product manufacturers taking the opportunity to compete for chips, people familiar with the matter revealed that the White House does not support any “special treatment” in certain industries. .

Chairman of TSMC: Confident to successfully build a factory in the United States

For TSMC, the White House participation in the “chat” seems to have gained a lot.

TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin said after the meeting: “TSMC is confident that the 5-nanometer advanced wafer fab project to be built in Phoenix, Arizona is also one of the largest foreign direct investment projects in the history of the United States. Under the cross-party cooperation with the U.S. government Will succeed.”

TSMC already has a fab in Kamaz, Washington, and design centers in Austin, Texas, and San Jose, California.

The fab in Phoenix is ​​the second production base established by TSMC in the United States, with an investment of US$12 billion and a planned monthly production capacity of 20,000 12-inch wafers. It plans to start construction this year and start mass production in 2024, which will bring more than 1,600 high-tech job opportunities indirectly create thousands of job opportunities for the semiconductor industry ecosystem.

Jason Oxman, CEO of the US Information Technology Industry Council, pointed out that the Biden government is recommended to provide more long-term financial support and tax incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, especially for TSMC, which has determined to invest heavily in the United States.

According to data, the cost of investing and building factories in the United States is 30%-50% higher than in other regions.

The root of the global chip shortage lies in the United States

Former Google CEO Schmidt once pointed out that the United States is “heavyly dependent” on TSMC’s chip supply.

He said: “If you want to produce leading hardware products, this is what we need to produce. You may need TSMC. Their products are much faster and much better.”

The entire Taiwan Province occupies 65% (some say 77.5%) of the global foundry market, and TSMC accounts for most of it.

Nvidia, Qualcomm, AMD and Apple all rely on TSMC’s foundry. In other words, about “65%” of the demand in the US market is met by TSMC.

In addition, TSMC is also the world’s best chip manufacturer.

TSMC has the most advanced 7-nanometer process technology, and is developing and preparing for mass production of the 3-nanometer process.

In addition, TSMC has also made breakthroughs in the research and development of advanced 2nm process.

More than half of the world’s chips come from TSMC, and TSMC has turned itself into the center of the technology supply chain.

Compared with its rivals, TSMC’s technological level is 10 years ahead of Samsung.

SMIC has just completed 14-nanometer mass production in 2020, which is the level of TSMC five years ago.

Sure enough, TSMC is big and good.

In the 1990s, the United States was the main force in semiconductor chip production, accounting for about 37% of the world, but now the self-production rate of semiconductor production in the United States only accounts for 12% of the national demand.

Former Google CEO Schmidt said that the United States hopes to lead China by at least two generations in chip production and must return semiconductor production to its homeland.

This CEO, who has served as a science and technology consultant for the US Department of Defense, once led a think tank to publish a report entitled Asymmetric Competition: A Strategy for China & Technology.

The report specifically pointed out that the next generation of chips (including semiconductor chips and biochips) technology is very important to the United States, because it can not only “snap” China’s neck with it, but also increase the speed of technology that can increase the overall innovation speed, and is related to national security. Closely related.

This type of think tank has more than one suggestion, all of which have greatly influenced the policies of the US government.

Regarding the White House chip summit, some analysts said that the meeting was nominally to coordinate the shortage of chips in the United States, but in fact it was to re-upgrade the chip war in the United States.

On the surface, a group of companies such as General Motors in the United States caused insufficient chip orders due to the outbreak of the epidemic and insufficient sales. In fact, it is well known that the general shortage of global chips and the chaos and even rupture of the entire supply chain are mainly caused by the forced changes in the United States. Market and economic laws have unprovoked suppression of Chinese high-tech companies such as Huawei, intensified the US technology war, and attempted to cut off the supply of semiconductor chips and even decouple the industry.

On the 12th, at the analyst meeting held by Huawei, Huawei Vice Chairman and Rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun said:

In the past two years, the United States has imposed sanctions on Huawei three times. The damage to Huawei is great, and the damage will continue to show up. “Sanctions will do more damage to the global industrial chain.” Europe, Japan, etc. are all increasing investment in semiconductors. , Europe clearly emphasized that it has invested heavily to achieve semiconductor independence.

But the fact is that the United States is still advancing its high-tech and semiconductor chip strategies in the name of dealing with China.

According to White House officials, the United States’ short-term goal is to transfer half of the production of chips needed by the United States to “inside the United States” as soon as possible. This may be a specific goal of the White House chip conference.

Obviously, TSMC is the target of wooing.

Reference materials:

https://www.guancha.cn/internation/2021_04_13_587187.shtml

https://money.udn.com/money/story/5612/5384140

https://www.toutiao.com/a6950262088631665165/?tt_from=weixin&utm_campaign=client_share&wxshare_count=1×tamp=1618316456&app=news_article_social&utm_source=weixin&utm_medium=toutiao_ios&utm_medium=toutiao_ios&utm_medium=toutiao_share&use_new_medium=toutiao_share

https://www.sohu.com/a/460345316_115479

https://money.udn.com/money/story/12926/5381565