Tesla Inc chief executive officer Elon Musk yesterday said that Samsung Electronics Co would provide his company with its next-generation AI6 chips, following the South Korean firm’s announcement of a US$16.5 billion deal.
Samsung said in a regulatory filing yesterday that it had secured an eight-year agreement, without naming the client, describing it only as a “major global company.”
Under the deal, the partnership — effective from Thursday last week — runs through the end of 2033.
Photo: EPA
“Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate,” Musk wrote on X.
“Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency,” he added, calling it a “critical point” in striking the deal.
“I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress,” he said, citing how Samsung’s Texas plant was “conveniently located not far from my house.”
The deal represents about 7.6 percent of Samsung’s annual sales for last year, the company said.
The agreement is expected to provide a major boost to Samsung, which has faced headwinds in its foundry business, lagging rivals SK Hynix Inc and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the race for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips.
Samsung earlier this month said that it expected operating profit to fall 56 percent year-on-year and 31 percent from the previous quarter, citing a slump in its core semiconductor division.
Experts have attributed the decline to weaknesses in its foundry operations, which involve contract-based manufacturing of chips designed by other companies.
TSMC held a dominant share of 67.6 percent of the global foundry market in the first quarter this year, up from 67.1 percent in the previous quarter, Taipei-based researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) reported last month.
Samsung’s share slipped to 7.7 percent from 8.1 percent in the previous quarter.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
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