NXP Semiconductors NV expects its first automotive-grade 5-nanometer chip built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to become available for automakers within one-and-a-half years at the earliest, following demand for better computing performance and energy efficiency for connected vehicles, a company executive said yesterday.
That would mean a significant upgrade from the 16-nanometer technology NXP adopted in its existing series of microprocessors. NXP chief technology executive Lars Reger made the remarks during a media briefing yesterday in Taipei. The latest updates came after NXP unveiled its plan to source 5-nanometer capacity from TSMC in 2021.
This is Reger’s first trip to Taiwan since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago. He is slated to pay a visit to TSMC’s Fab 18 in Tainan, the hub for its 5-nanometer chips.
Photo courtesy of NXP Semiconductors NV
“We already gave silicon to our customers as a development platform. The engineering is running,” Reger said. “The new NXP S32 next-generation flagship chip will be available to OEMs in one-and-half to two years and will also be on the mass market.”
With 4 billion transistors on the new 5-nanometer processor, the S32 next-generation flagship chip would deliver optimized network connectivity in real time and enhanced computing and switching performance, Reger said. In the initial stage, no artificial-intelligence (AI) accelerator would be added on, he said.
When asked if NXP would adopt 3-nanometer technology, which has a smaller width between transistors than 5-nanometer chips, Reger said it would largely depend on the benefits brought about. If more AI applications are added on, it would trend smaller, he said.
Beyond Taiwan, NXP is also joining TSMC, Robert Bosch GmbH and Infineon Technologies AG in building a 10 billion euro fab in Dresden, Germany for making car chips in their latest efforts to boost semiconductor supply chain resilience as requested by customers.
TSMC will hold a majority stake of 70 percent in the joint venture. Construction of the fab is to commence in 2027 at the earliest.
NXP customers faced challenges to have sufficient chip supply over the past 3 years due to COVID-19-related restrictions, and have requested to source chips from multiple manufacturing sites or suppliers such as Samsung Electronics Co and GlobalFoundries Inc in different regions, Reger said yesterday.
The strategy of capacity diversification is also extended to chip packaging and development centers, Reger said. This is the “silicon shield” they want to build, he said.
TSMC is building two factories in the US to make advanced 4-nanometer chips used in smartphones and servers for Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and AMD. The chipmaker also plans to build two factories in Japan to produce chips for Japanese automakers.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS