Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product.
Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws and had never engaged in any business relationship with Huawei. Sophgo, which is affiliated with cryptocurrency mining equipment company Bitmain Technologies Ltd (比特大陸), said it had provided a detailed investigation report to TSMC to prove that it was not related to Huawei.
Photo: CNA
TSMC declined to comment. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US Department of Commerce said it was aware of reports of potential violations of US export controls but it could not comment on whether any investigation was ongoing.
Tech research firm TechInsights discovered the TSMC chip on Huawei’s Ascend 910B when it took apart the multi-chip processor, a different source told Reuters on Tuesday last week.
After being alerted to the finding, TSMC notified the US about two weeks ago, the source said.
About the same time, TSMC also halted shipments to a client, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a Taiwanese official who said the suspension came after the company discovered a chip it supplied to the client ended up in a Huawei product.
TSMC alerted Taiwanese and US authorities, and began a detailed investigation, the official said. However, the official did not name the client, which the latest sources identified as Sophgo. The Information tech news outlet also reported the name on Saturday.
In August, the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emergency Technology (DSET) in Taiwan reported that Bitmain, which it described as a leading Chinese integrated circuit design enterprise and supplier of cryptocurrency mining machines, was “aiming to challenge the AI chip market dominance of Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.”
The DSET report described Sophgo as a Bitmain affiliate. Sophgo was co-founded by Micree Zhan (詹克團), who also co-founded Bitmain, according to a corporate registration database.
The company also communicated with the US Federal Communications Commission last year using a Bitmain email address and the name Xiamen Sophgo Technologies Ltd.
In 2021, prosecutors raided Bitmain’s operations in Taiwan and accused two Bitmain affiliates of illegally recruiting Taiwanese semiconductor engineers and illegally conducting research and development activities, the New Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
Four Taiwanese defendants pleaded guilty and were given fines, it said.
Sophgo’s Web site says it has research and development centers in more than 10 cities in China and other countries.
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