Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子) yesterday formed a strategic partnership with Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd’s (清華紫光) NAND flash memory module subsidiary to build a larger presence in China, the world’s biggest semiconductor market.
Phison, which supplies NAND flash memory controllers and modules, signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing Unis Memory Technology Co (北京紫光存儲科技), joining the ranks of local semiconductor companies that have teamed up with Tsinghua Unigroup, which aims to become a major semiconductor firm globally.
Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投資控股) and contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Co (聯電) are among Tsinghua Unigroup’s partners.
Phison would deepen its cooperation with Beijing Unis Memory Technology in the memory industry supply chain, from chip design and joint project development to contract manufacturing, the companies said in a joint statement.
Beijing Unis Memory Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup, designs NAND flash memory controllers and modules, and develops its own solid-state drive modules.
“Beijing Unis Memory Technology, an upstart in the memory storage market, is expected to play an important role in the industry. Phison aims to create new business opportunities via this strategic cooperation,” Phison chairman Pua Khein-seng (潘健成) said.
Beijing Unis Memory Technology chairman Ma Daojie (馬道杰) said the company has been seeking strategic partnerships with well-established firms in the memory industry supply chain, including Phison and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC, 長江存儲).
YMTC, a NAND flash manufacturing arm of Tsinghua Unigroup, entered volume production in the third quarter of this year.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98
COUNTRY-BASED: Setting ceilings on sales of the technology would tighten limits that originally targeted China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence amid security risks US officials have discussed capping sales of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia Corp and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ AI capabilities. The new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for some countries in the interest of national security, according to the people, who described the private discussions on condition of anonymity. Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden focused on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing appetite for AI data centers and the deep pockets to fund them, the people