Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has suspended production of advanced silicon for Chinese start-up Biren Intelligent Technology Co (壁仞科技) to ensure compliance with US regulations, a person familiar with the matter said.
The decision is connected with information in the public domain that Biren’s products outperform Nvidia Corp’s A100 chips, which are banned for the Chinese market, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter.
While TSMC has not reached a conclusion on whether Biren’s products meet the US threshold for restrictions, the chipmaker has decided to stop supplies to the Chinese start-up for now, the person said.
Photo: Lam Yik Fei, Bloomberg
Biren, one of China’s most promising semiconductor designers, earlier concluded its artificial intelligence (AI) chips produced by TSMC are not covered by the latest US export restrictions because the specs of its products do not meet the criteria for curbs, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
A representative for TSMC declined to comment further. No one at Shanghai-based Biren was immediately available to respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
Biren is considered a domestic contender to compete with graphics chips from Nvidia, which has said it can no longer sell its most advanced AI products into China. The US measures were designed to limit China’s development of technology that might be used to aid its military, and appeared to rule out access to advanced fabrication.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which plays a key role in designing and enforcing export controls, announced the semiconductor restrictions on Oct. 7.
“While BIS cannot comment on company-specific actions, we expect all companies to comply with export controls,” a commerce department spokesperson said in a response to an earlier query on TSMC’s business relationship with Biren. “Since the release of the rule on Oct. 7, BIS has been undertaking a vigorous outreach effort to educate those impacted by it to aid compliance efforts.”
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, complies with all relevant regulations and “will continue to serve all customers around the world,” chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said in response to a question about China during its earnings call on Oct. 13.
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