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.
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
‘COINCIDENCE’: The former president should keep in mind local and global response to his actions and abide by the law to safeguard national interests, the MAC said The Presidential Office yesterday confirmed that it has received an application from former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit China next week and would be discussing his security detail. “As the travel restrictions on former president Ma have expired, we respect his plan to pay respect to his ancestors in China,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said. “We will review his travel plan and consult concerned agencies to assist him in arranging his security detail.” “We also hope that Ma, as a former commander in chief of Taiwan, acts in a manner that aligns with national interests and does not hurt
‘DIRE’: Taiwan would not engage in ‘dollar diplomacy,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after China reportedly offered Honduras up to US$3 billion to establish relations The government yesterday recalled its ambassador to Honduras after the Central American nation sent its foreign minister to China, signaling that it would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Suspicions concerning ties with Honduras are rife after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday last week wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina traveled to China on Wednesday “to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations” on instructions from Castro, Reuters yesterday quoted Honduran presidential spokesman Ivis Alvarado as saying. The government “has decided to immediately recall the ambassador to Honduras
‘NOTHING NEW’: China should not use Tsai Ing-wen’s transits through the US as a pretext to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait, a Washington official said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to stop over in the US on her way to and from Central America next week, but her administration would not confirm a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Tsai’s delegation is to leave Taipei on Wednesday next week and stop over in New York City, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) told a news conference yesterday. Tsai is then to head to Guatemala on Saturday next week for talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and to meet with Taiwanese expatriates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. On April 3, Tsai is scheduled to travel
RSS