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Commentary / Analysis

• China bars Micron ICs destined for key infrastructure (Thursday May. 25, 2023)
  Yesterday, China barred Micron from selling memories to suppliers of key domestic infrastructure following a security review.
  
  
• TSMC lays out a killer roadmap (Thursday May. 25, 2023)
  At TSMC’s European technology symposium in Amsterdam earlier this week, the company laid out it’s advanced technology roadmap for the next three years.
  
  
• DRAM Industry Q1 Revenues Decline 21.2% QoQ, Marking Third Consecutive Quarter of Downturn, Says TrendForce (Thursday May. 25, 2023)
  TrendForce reports a dramatic 21.2% QoQ decline in Q1 revenues for the DRAM industry, bringing total revenue down to US$9.663 billion.
  
  
• Experts Weigh Impact of Intel-Arm Collaboration (Wednesday May. 24, 2023)
  Intel Foundry Services and Arm agreed last month to optimize Arm’s IP for Intel’s upcoming 18A process technology (1.8 nm). The collaboration will focus on mobile designs and will undertake design technology co-optimization (DTCO) and system technology co-optimization (STCO), which means that Arm’s IP will be optimized both for Intel’s forthcoming production node and for the company’s advanced packaging technologies.
  
  
• We don't compete with our customers - TSMC (Monday May. 22, 2023)
  TSMC pointed up a differentiator between itself and its two foundry rivals – Samsung and Intel – at a technology symposium in Hsinchu yesterday.
  
  
• Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor Points to Moderating Industry Contraction in Q2 2023, SEMI Reports (Wednesday May. 17, 2023)
  The current global semiconductor manufacturing industry contraction is expected to moderate in the second quarter of 2023 and give way to a gradual recovery starting in the third quarter, SEMI announced in its Q1 2023 publication of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor (SMM) Report.
  
  
• Indian chip startups get seed funds from Sequoia Capital (Monday May. 15, 2023)
  InCore Semiconductors and Mindgrove Technologies – both based in Chennai, India – have both received seed funding in rounds led by Sequoia Capital India.
  
  
• IC designers leave Graphcore for Meta (Monday May. 08, 2023)
  Ten IC designers working for Graphcore have been recruited by Meta, reports Reuters.
  
  
• Flex Logix Cancels AI Chip, Markets IP for AI and DSP (Monday May. 08, 2023)
  Flex Logix, an eFPGA company, has stopped selling its InferX X1 AI accelerator chip, and will instead bring the architecture to market as licensable IP, Flex Logix CEO Geoff Tate told EE Times.
  
  
• Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Decline in Q1 2023, SEMI Reports (Tuesday May. 02, 2023)
  Worldwide silicon wafer shipments slipped 9.0% quarter-over-quarter to 3,265 million square inches in the first quarter of 2023 and 11.3% from the 3,679 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Decrease 8.7% in First Quarter; March Sales Tick Up Month-to-Month for First Time Since May 2022 (Tuesday May. 02, 2023)
  SIA today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $119.5 billion during the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 8.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 and 21.3% less than the first quarter of 2022.
  
  
• Electronic System Design Industry Logs $3.9 Billion in Revenue in Q4 2022, ESD Alliance Reports (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  Electronic System Design (ESD) industry revenue increased 11.3% from $3,468.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $3,858.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
  
  
• Processor Startup Innovates Memory Allocation Management (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  
  
  
• EC approves €7.4bn subsidy for ST-GloFo JV fab (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  The EC has approved a €7.4 billion subsidy for ST and GloFo’s jv FD-SOI fab at Crolles.
  
  
• Softbank files to list Arm on the Nasdaq (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  SoftBank has filed for a public offering of Arm shares on the Nasdaq.
  
  
• TSMC's 3-nm Push Faces Tool Struggles (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is straining to meet demand from top customer Apple for 3-nm chips. The company’s tool and yield struggles have impeded the ramp to volume production with world-leading technology, according to analysts surveyed by EE Times.
  
  
• Samsung makes $3.4bn Q1 chip loss (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  Samsung’s Q1 revenue was down 18% y-o-y at $47.6 billion for an operating profit down 95% y-o-y at $478.5 million.
  
  
• EU-Funded NimbleAI to Deliver 3D Neuromorphic Chip (Monday May. 01, 2023)
  Leveraging inspiration from biology combined with AI advances, the EU-funded NimbleAI project aims to unlock the potential of neuromorphic vision. French eFPGA IP company Menta announced it has joined the NimbleAI consortium to help design a 3D neuromorphic chip.
  
  
• Alphawave to suspend shares (Friday Apr. 28, 2023)
  Alphawave is to suspend its shares on the LSE from next Tuesday after its shares fell 20% this morning following an admission that KPMG had delayed issuing its accounts.
  
  
• Revenue Decline of Global Top 10 IC Design Houses Expanded to Nearly 10% in 4Q22, Decline Expected to Continue into 1Q23, Says TrendForce (Thursday Apr. 27, 2023)
  TrendForce reports that adverse factors such as weak overall consumption, restrictions from China, and the slowdown of corporate IT spending and CSP demand have impacted the revenue performance of the world’s top 10 IC design houses in 4Q22, leading to a QoQ decline of 9.2%, or approximately US$33.96 billion.
  
  
• Arm reported to be building a chip (Monday Apr. 24, 2023)
  Arm is building a chip to be fabbed at a foundry, reports the FT.
  
  
• EU agrees Chips Act terms (Thursday Apr. 20, 2023)
  The terms of a bill to go to the EU parliament and European Council before being ratified as the European Chips Act have been finalised. The discussions on the terms have taken 14 months.
  
  
• TSMC could partner with Bosch for 28nm fab in Germany (Monday Apr. 17, 2023)
  Lead foundry TSMC could partner with Robert Bosch and two other automotive suppliers to create a joint-venture 300mm fab in Germany that will target a 28nm process technology, according to reports in Digitimes.
  
  
• Arm could be on the hook for $8.5bn of Softbank debt (Monday Apr. 17, 2023)
  If Arm does not file for its public offer by the end of September it could become liable for $8.5 billion of Softbank debt for which it was made a guarantor.
  
  
• Softbank reduces Alibaba holding to 3.8% (Friday Apr. 14, 2023)
  Softbank has sold shares worth $7.2 billion in Alibaba reducing its shareholding to 3.8% says the FT. Last year Softbank sold $29 billion worth of Alibaba stock
  
  
• Strict Restrictions Imposed by US CHIPS Act Will Lower Willingness of Multinational Suppliers to Invest; Chinese Semiconductor Development Will Be Limited for Next Decade, Says TrendForce (Friday Apr. 14, 2023)
  TrendForce reports that the US Department of Commerce recently released details regarding its CHIPS and Science Act, which stipulates that beneficiaries of the act will be restricted in their investment activities—for more advanced and mature processes—in China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia for the next ten years.
  
  
• Hardware Root of Trust: The Key to IoT Security in Smart Homes (Thursday Apr. 13, 2023)
  To establish a foundation of trust, IoT device makers need to get identities and keys into their devices and keep these assets secure.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Equipment Billings Reach Industry Record $107.6 Billion in 2022, SEMI Reports (Thursday Apr. 13, 2023)
  Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased 5% from $102.6 billion in 2021 to an all-time record of $107.6 billion last year, SEMI, the industry association representing the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, reported today.
  
  
• Global Semiconductor Sales Decrease 4% Month-to-Month in February (Friday Apr. 07, 2023)
  SIA today announced global semiconductor industry sales totaled $39.7 billion during the month of February 2023, a decrease of 4.0% compared to the January 2023 total of $41.3 billion and 20.7% less than the February 2022 total of $50.0 billion.
  
  
• Post-Quantum Cryptography: Are You Ready? (Thursday Apr. 06, 2023)
  Most experts suggest large-scale quantum computers will become a reality within the next decade and advise that being prepared is the best policy.