CHIPMAKERS
MediaTek chips on show
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the nation’s bigger handset chipmaker, said it planned to showcase latest chips, including its LTE modem and mobile system-on-chips during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, that begins tomorrow. MediaTek said its MT6290 is an LTE modem built on the 28nm process with a wireless baseband processor based on the Coresonic SIMT architecture. MT6290 is fully compatible with MediaTek SOCs, including the new octa-core MT6592. MediaTek will demonstrate the world’s first Ultra high-definition, 4k2k, DTV SOC with 60Hz HEVC support. MediaTek is scheduled to ship the chip next quarter. The chipmaker will also showcase its first wireless charging product, which is the world’s first multimode inductive Qi and resonance wireless charging SOC.
TELECOMS
4G services launch
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s top telecom operator, said it planned to recruit 168 new workers in preparation for the commercial launch of its new fourth-generation (4G) services in the second half of this year. The program aims to accelerate the construction of 4G base stations and launch of services, the company said in a statement sent on Saturday. Chunghwa Telecom aims to have 300,000 4G subscribers this year. The company planned to build 3,000 4G base station this year. Chunghwa has nearly 3.6 million subscribers for its 3G data services. The company obtained a 4G license for NT$39.08 billion (US$1.3 billion) last year. Chunghwa Telecom has 10.55 million mobile subscribers, seizing 35 percent of local market share, which was a greater share than any of the five other bidders.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is