SEMICONDUCTORS
AWS unveils custom chips
Amazon.com Inc’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), on Tuesday introduced two new custom computing chips aimed at helping its customers beat the cost of using chips from Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp. The company released the third generation of its Graviton chip, which is designed to compete with central processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, while a new class of chip called Trainium, which is designed to train machine learning computer models and would compete against chips from Nvidia, would soon be available to its customers, it said. AWS expects it to train machine learning models at a cost that is 40 percent lower than Nvidia’s flagship chip.
AEROSPACE
Musk talks SpaceX risk
Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday said that a potential bankruptcy at the company in the event of a severe global recession would be “unlikely,” but not impossible. He was replying to an article about a memo he sent to SpaceX employees in which he said the company could face a genuine risk of bankruptcy if its Raptor rocket engine problems are not fixed. Musk replied with a simple “yes” to a tweet about the Raptor production issue being the biggest potential bottleneck while the company is spending huge amounts on its Starship and Starlink projects.
BANKING
Citigroup picks bidder
Citigroup Inc has chosen Union Bank of the Philippines as its preferred bidder to acquire its consumer banking assets in the Southeast Asian country, people familiar with the matter said. Citigroup and Union Bank plan to continue to negotiate the terms and structure of a deal with the goal of reaching an agreement over the coming weeks, the people said. A potential sale could value the assets at about US$1 billion, they said, adding that other bidders remain interested.
APPAREL
Investcorp to sell Dainese
Investcorp is gearing up to sell Italian motorcycle clothing brand Dainese in a deal that could value the 49-year firm, favored by motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi, at about 750 million euros (US$850 million), a source familiar with the matter said. The Bahrain-based private equity firm has hired Lazard Ltd to launch a sales process for the company at the start of next year, the source said. Investcorp, which took control of Dainese in 2014 for 130 million euros, aims to cash out for about 750 million euros, and if successful, it could make almost six times its money from the sale.
INTERNET
Meta ordered to sell Giphy
Britain’s antitrust watchdog has ordered Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc to sell Giphy, the first time a global regulator has forced a Big Tech firm to unwind a completed deal, and a turnaround after years of being allowed to swallow up smaller rivals with virtually no pushback. The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that last year’s US$315 million tie-up with the GIF search engine would reduce competition between social media platforms, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The company would be able to appeal the decision to the British Competition Appeal Tribunal where it would be heard as a judicial review. If Meta accepts the CMA’s ruling it would have to find a suitable buyer that would be vetted by the regulator.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known