Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics.
The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said.
“We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.”
Photo: Bloomberg
TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has developed second-generation 650 volt and 100 volt GaN chips, with production expected to commence this year, while it is developing an 8-inch 650 volt enhanced high-electron-mobility transistor scheduled for production next year.
GaN-based chips are emerging as an alternative to silicon-based chips in applications demanding high power efficiency, faster switch speeds and smaller form factors. The chips are used in the automotive industry, data centers and optoelectronics.
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (力積電) is to succeed TSMC as a supplier of high-voltage GaN chips to Navitas Semiconductor Inc, Navitas said in a statement on Tuesday.
Powerchip has reached an agreement with Navitas to produce GaN chips at its 200mm plant in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Science Park (竹南科學園區).
Powerchip is to manufacture Navitas’ GaN portfolio with ratings from 100 volts to 650 volts, supporting growing demand from hyperscale artificial intelligence data centers and electric vehicles, Navitas said.
Qualification of initial devices is expected in the fourth quarter this year and the 100 volt family is expected to start production at Powerchip in the first half of next year, while 650 volt devices would transition from TSMC to Powerchip over the next 12 to 24 months, Navitas said.
Powerchip’s fab has been operational since 2019 and supports high-volume manufacturing processes for GaN, ranging from micro-LEDs to radio frequency GaN devices, the company added.
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
OUTLOOK: Pat Gelsinger said he did not expect the heavy AI infrastructure investments by the major cloud service providers to cause an AI bubble to burst soon Building a resilient energy supply chain is crucial for Taiwan to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology and grow its economy, former Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger said yesterday. Gelsinger, now a general partner at the US venture capital firm Playground Global LLC, was asked at a news conference in Taipei about his views on Taiwan’s hardware development and growing concern over an AI bubble. “Today, the greatest issue in Taiwan isn’t even in the software or in architecture. It is energy,” Gelsinger said. “You are not in the position to have a resilient energy supply chain, and that,
RSS