AI Gossip

Micron faces a strike at one Taiwan location, Taoyuan, after mediation talks with the union there collapsed, media report. The union said it will move forward with a strike vote since Micron failed to address the issue employees care most about, a profit-sharing system, which the union remains open to discuss. Micron's talks with another union in Taichung will resume Oct. 22 (10/22). $Micron Tech(MU.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC could see a monthly record high NT$520 billion in September revenue, a catalyst to propel the Taiwan Stock Exchange in early October, media report, citing institutional analysts. TSMC reports September revenue on Oct. 8 (10/8). The current all-time-high is August’s NT$514.81B. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC has inspected two AUO plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park for possible purchase and transformation into advanced semiconductor packaging facilities, media report, noting both plants are near TSMC facilities. AUO has sold 3 plants so far this year for a total NT$34.7 billion (US$1.1B). The company used to be one of the world’s biggest makers of LCD panels, which it still produces, but it has been transforming its business to higher end products like specialty screens, Micro LED and advanced semiconductor packaging. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC plans to build advanced semiconductor fabs in the proposed Shalun science park in Tainan, south Taiwan, which is focused on semiconductors and AI, media report, adding the park would hold 248.77-hectares of land, create 35,000 jobs, and aims to hit an annual output value of NT$2.2 trillion.

Source: Dan Nystedt

Intel is in talks with Taiwan’s AUO for advanced packaging aimed at CPO (co-packaged optics), due to AUO’s work on Micro LED technology, media report, a project that also uses glass substrates. The two may also work together on advanced packaging for high-density compute. $Intel(INTC.US) #AUO #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

UMC and Powerchip are planning big price hikes for mature chip production amid continued strong demand and transfer orders as TSMC phases out older fabs, media report, with UMC planning a “substantial” price hike and Powerchip looking at up to a 40% hike. Vanguard (VIS) has also seen demand surge, mainly as it is seen as the key winner of business from TSMC’s move away from legacy nodes. TSMC holds nearly a 30% stake in VIS, a longtime partner. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #PSMC #VIS #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC will be on hand at the groundbreaking for the Baipu Industrial Park in Kaohsiung, south Taiwan today as it plans to turn part of the park into a proving ground for advanced packaging equipment, media report, adding the 88.73-hectare park is fully booked, with TSMC taking the entire south side. The park is designed for R&D and for qualifying and certifying equipment and materials. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

Headline: TSMC prices are up 10%, prompting AMD to hike Q4 chip prices. (Note this story cites last week’s news that AMD will raise prices 10% in response to higher supply chain prices to mean that TSMC has raised prices 10%. Not news.) $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $AMD(AMD.US)

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC will have four new 1.4nm fabs in mass production of 120,000 to 140,000 wafers-per-month (wpm) by the 2nd quarter of 2028 in the Central Taiwan Science Park near the city of Taichung, media report, assuming a price-per-wafer of US$35,000 each. Construction has sped up so that the 2nd fab can catch up with the 1st and be in mass production by end-2027. The 1st fab is set for trial production by April next year. Major clients are already reserving capacity, including Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Broadcom. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $NVIDIA(NVDA.US) $Apple(AAPL.US) $Qualcomm(QCOM.US) $Broadcom(AVGO.US) #mediatek #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

Micron described talks with Taiwan union leaders on Friday (9/18) as “constructive”, adding they would hold a second mediation with government officials on Tuesday (9/22), media report. Topics ranged from the bonus system and overall compensation to non-retaliation provisions and ensuring non-union workers would NOT receive any benefits won by the unions (no free ride clause). $Micron Tech(MU.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

China Exports of Raw Tungsten are increasing and ASPs are dropping:

Source: Chips & Wafers

A little under 2 years ago, we joined X with a simple goal: share what we were learning with the semiconductor community on @X, and hopefully add something useful to the conversation.

Source: Chips & Wafers

Applied Materials, the US’s biggest chip equipment maker, plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next decade, including in a 140-acre advanced semiconductor research park with cleanroom, media report, adding it will double its India R&D workforce. $Applied Materials(AMAT.US) #India #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC plans to build three fabs for sub-1.4nm and tinier chip manufacturing in Longtan, north Taiwan, with the first to be ready for mass production by 2030, media report, adding the investment is seen at over NT$1 trillion (US$31.4B). The report cites unnamed industry sources. The science park expansion plan approved by the National Development Council (NDC) marks a return to Longtan for TSMC, which abandoned the area in 2023 amid protests. The NDC’s okay is just the first of several steps for project. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

Taiwan electricity rates for heavy users like the semiconductor industry are expected to remain unchanged after a meeting this Friday to determine new pricing at state-run Taipower, media report, adding the government’s goal is to stabilize electricity prices. Longer term, the rate committee must decide to take a gradual approach to price increases or freeze rates. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #semiconductors

Source: Dan Nystedt

Winbond agreed to buy Infineon’s NOR Flash and F-RAM business in an all-cash deal valued at US$1.12 billion (NT$35.6B), Infineon said, adding the business serves customers across automotive, industrial and infrastructure markets. The deal is targeted to close in the 2nd half of 2027. Winbond plans to bring back the “Spansion” brand name for NOR Flash. The deal is set to make Winbond the biggest NOR Flash maker in the world, with around 30% market share. $IFFNY 2344

Source: Dan Nystedt

MediaTek launched its latest flagship smartphone chips, media report:

Source: Dan Nystedt

Taiwan’s economic growth could hit 12% this year amid booming AI-related business by TSMC and Taiwan’s big AI server makers, said National Development Council Minister Chun-Hsien Yeh, adding order visibility extends through 2027. The government’s current official economic growth forecast is 11.05% for 2026. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #Foxconn #Quanta #Wistron #Wiwynn #Inventec #Gigabyte

Source: Dan Nystedt

MONSTROUS MONTH FROM TAIWANESE SERVER ODM'S📈📈

Source: Chips & Wafers

Shortages continue for TSMC’s top production processes, 3nm and 2nm, and CoWoS advanced packaging, media report, mostly locked up by Nvidia and Apple. Amazon AWS has won more 3nm capacity recently, while MediaTek continues to seek more 2nm/3nm capacity and CoWoS-S/L packaging for smartphone chips and Google TPUs.

Source: Dan Nystedt

An executive from Murata Manufacturing, the world’s biggest maker of MLCCs (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors), said demand growth for MLCCs used in AI servers will continue at least through 2028, media report, adding Murata plans to invest ¥80 billion (US$520 million) over 2-years to expand MLCC capacity by more than 20%. The company is also reviewing a more aggressive 2nd wave of expansion, including larger plants in Japan and overseas.

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC could create a new “Moore’s Law for CPO,” doubling bandwidth every two years as it accelerates the rollout of co-packaged optics (CPO) to meet the soaring bandwidth requirements of AI data centers, according to a media report.

Source: Dan Nystedt

Failure to comply with US regulations could see Taiwan firms banned from its supply chains over China-made components, a problem that recently put Unimicron at the center of a Taiwan investigation, media report. The tech giant has been accused of putting ‘Made-in-Taiwan’ labels on some printed circuit boards from its China factories. Taiwan firms have long had supply chains in China, but US tariffs and supply chain regulations have caused changes. The report says Taiwan customs caught 428 violations of the rules as of the end of August, up from 168 at the same time last year, a big increase but mainly due to stricter enforcement.

Source: Dan Nystedt

TSMC 2nm and 3nm capacity expansion shows why revenue will hit new record highs in 2027, media report:

Source: Dan Nystedt