China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) plans to start mass-producing its most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip in the first quarter of next year, even as it struggles to make enough chips due to US restrictions, two people familiar with the matter said.
The telecoms conglomerate has sent samples of the Ascend 910C — its newest chip, meant to rival those made by US chipmaker Nvidia Corp — to some technology firms and started taking orders, the sources told Reuters.
The 910C is being made by top Chinese contract chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) on its N+2 process, but a lack of advanced lithography equipment has limited the chip’s yield to about 20 percent, said one source who was briefed on the results.
Photo by AFP
Advanced chips need yields of more than 70 percent to be commercially viable.
Even Huawei’s current most advanced processor, the SMIC-produced 910B, has a yield of only about 50 percent, forcing Huawei to slash production targets and delay filling orders for that chip, the sources said.
Huawei and SMIC did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), ordered more than 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year, but had received fewer than 30,000 as of July, a pace too slow meet the company’s needs, Reuters reported in September.
Other Chinese technology companies that have ordered from Huawei have complained of similar problems, sources have said.
US curbs include barring China since 2020 from obtaining extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology from Dutch manufacturer ASML Holding NV, used to make the world’s most sophisticated processors.
“Huawei knows there is no short-term solution, given the lack of EUVs, so it will give priority to strategic government and corporate orders,” the sources said.
ASML has also stopped shipping its most advanced deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines to China due to rules imposed by US President Joe Biden’s administration last year. Some fabs have also been restricted from buying older ASML DUV models.
SMIC demands a premium of up to 50 percent for chips made on its advanced nodes, which are less advanced than those of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and are made using enhanced ASML DUVs. Huawei has supplemented its SMIC-produced chips with ones manufactured by rival TSMC, according to analysts and sources.
TSMC notified the US Department of Commerce several weeks ago that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei 910B processor. The US has placed Huawei on a trade list that requires suppliers to obtain licenses to ship any goods or technology to the company.
Washington has since clamped down further, ordering TSMC to halt shipments of advanced AI chips to Chinese customers, in a move targeting the diversion of chips to Huawei.
US authorities are planning export controls on the semiconductor industry that would further restrict shipments for Chinese firms.
Donald Trump, who was US president from 2017 to 2021 and is to return to the White House in January, has made tough-on-China trade policies core to his economic agenda.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS