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TSMC Won the Foundry War. Now the Fallout Begins

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

It’s not just that TSMC’s competitors cannot match the Taiwanese foundry in revenue, production volume or leading-edge technology, they are even unable to mount a spirited defense. TSMC’s overwhelming dominance could be a problem with anti-trust investigators. Yet, the company cannot dial back its technology innovations or on its commitment to customers just to let rivals catch up. Still, it may be in TSMC’s long-term interest to help foster the growth of a more competitive, viable and vibrant foundry landscape.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) dominates the foundry business so thoroughly its overwhelming sales position and technology leadership have spawned challenges and anti-trust speculations it is racing to terminate before they mushroom into a full-blown crisis.

Anti-monopoly investigators are reportedly sniffing around the company with one question in mind: Has the Taiwanese foundry become so big and such a threat to the supply chain that it must be reined in?

Read More »TSMC Won the Foundry War. Now the Fallout Begins
Chiplets: 'Kluge' or answer to OEMs' automotive SoC dilemma?

Chiplets: ‘Kluge’ or Answer to OEMs’ Automotive SoC Dilemma?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
We’ve all heard promises about “Lego block” chiplets, supposedly enabling customers to snap together chiplets from different manufacturers to build a custom SoC. Our recent interviews, however, reveal that such an open chiplet ecosystem doesn’t exist. Companies like Intel and Tenstorrent are pursuing automotive chiplets within single-company ecosystems. Have automotive chiplets already splintered into proprietary fragments?  At stake is how effectively Imec, with its Automotive Chiplet Program (ACP), could herd the cats now rampant in the automotive and semiconductor industries.

Read More »Chiplets: ‘Kluge’ or Answer to OEMs’ Automotive SoC Dilemma?
The Future of Chiplets

The Evolution and Future of Chiplets

By Clive ‘Max’ Maxfield

What’s at stake:

“Chiplet technology is revolutionizing the semiconductor industry by offering alternative advantages compared with traditional monolithic designs,” says IDTechEx research director Xiaoxi He, adding it will become a $411 billion business by 2035. Chiplets are certainly getting popular, but basic questions about the technology, its history, and innovations required keep cropping up. Our columnist explores the fundamentals of chiplets and gives his prognosis about the future.

It seems like everyone is talking about chiplets and multi-die (chiplet-based) systems these days. This is one of those topics that many people think they understand… right up until the time they try to explain it to someone else.

The most embarrassing thing is when the person with whom you are “waxing eloquent,” as it were, poses an awkward question, like “So, what’s the difference between a hybrid microelectronic assembly (HMA), a multi-chip module (MCM), a system-in-package (SiP), and a multi-die system using chiplets?”

“Ah, that’s a very good question,” you reply, quickly followed by, “Good grief! Is that the time? Hold that thought and we will return to this topic when next we meet,” with your voice fading away in the distance as you head out of the door and run for the hills.

In fact, there are a whole bunch of interrelated concepts here, and it can be difficult to wrap your brain around all the nitty-gritty details, so before we proceed to peruse and ponder the latest and greatest happenings in chiplet space (where no one can hear you scream), it’s probably worth our while to take a little time to set the scene.

Read More »The Evolution and Future of Chiplets

A Look Through Technology Time Portal

In this debut column for the Ojo-Yoshida Report, Clive Maxfield saunters through time, reviewing decades-old technological innovations only to realize that today, ‘we are surrounded by technologies that would have blown the mind and boggled the brain of 1970s me.’

War Over Taiwan Is Doubtful, and Unaffordable by China or Anyone

China ‘War Games’ Threaten Fragile Electronics Ecosystem

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

China’s claim over Taiwan is creating a negative effect the communist nation may not want. Signs are emerging that Taipei is warming to the idea of TSMC setting up more overseas fabs, possibly depriving China of future access to the foundry’s world-class semiconductor fabrication plants. Western fabless IC suppliers will have more sourcing options, but at a higher price. Is the tradeoff going to be worth it?

If China has its eyes on Taiwan’s jewel semiconductor fabs – in addition, of course, to reunifying the island and mainland – it is going about it in a way that may produce the opposite result.

In the last week, the Communist nation has ringed Taiwan with warships, battle aircrafts, naval assault ships, and military personnel, all in a bid to reinforce its opposition to any move towards independence by Taipei.

There are implications for the island’s technology industry, especially its world-leading semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. China’s threats may have finally spurred the government in Taipei to greenlight a major move it had previously opposed: the establishment of more fabs by Taiwan’s top chipmaker in locations outside the island.

Read More »China ‘War Games’ Threaten Fragile Electronics Ecosystem
Tesla's Game Plan From EV to SDV and AV

Tesla’s Game Plan From EV to SDV and AV

By Junko Yoshida

In the post-truth era, there was nothing surprising about Tesla’s “We, Robot” event last week. Tesla’s CEO perpetuated the fantasy of an autonomous car in which “you could fall asleep and wake up at your destination.” I wonder if the investors and fans who initially declared themselves “blown away” by Telsa humanoids dancing and serving drinks  were “shocked, shocked” when they learned they were talking to humanoids remotely controlled byTesla employees behind the scenes.

All par for the Tesla course.

Except in a few media outlets, I haven’t seen much outrage among Tesla fans against Elon Musk’s latest not-so-subtle deceptions.

Of course, in the age of post-truth politics, I know that objective facts take a back seat to personal emotion and devotion. But since when, is it okay to lie about science and technology? 

Read More »Tesla’s Game Plan From EV to SDV and AV

Tech Leaders Struggle to Mount Opposition to Geopolitics

By Bolaji Ojo

What’s at stake:

Tech enterprises are chafing under severe export and manufacturing restriction terms set by Western and Chinese political leaders. In the semiconductor sector, regular operational functions involving capex, IP, R&D, and other activities are being dictated or influenced by state actors. The relentless use of technology restrictions to achieve political goals now threaten large swaths of the market although the totality of the impact remains hidden.

The barriers to Nvidia Corp. selling its most advanced AI chips and systems in China are artificially created. But they are no less formidable.

Soon, too, under rules that are under consideration, electric vehicles (EVs) made in China or with Chinese components will be banned, severely restricted or attract heavy tariffs in the United States and EU.

The actions of these governments are being executed sometimes with but often without the total consent of Western semiconductor suppliers, electronicsOEMs, systems builders, automotive makers, and tier-one suppliers.

So far, the response of the industry has been muted, even from companies like Nvidia, AMD and Intel that are experiencing downward sales pressures in China. Determining winners and losers in this environment will be difficult, at least until the dust settles, which may take several years.

Read More »Tech Leaders Struggle to Mount Opposition to Geopolitics
China Speed Is Real

China Speed Is Real

We invited Intel’s Jack Weast and Sino Auto Insights’ Tu Le— two of the best “China hands” in the automotive industry—to talk about what’s real in China.