By Bolaji Ojo

OEM orders for semiconductors are still rising albeit at a slower pace. Inventories are increasing but some products remain on allocation although nobody quite knows which.

Meanwhile, inventories are creeping up at chipmakers even as they continue to ramp up production. The specter of double ordering is haunting suppliers but analysts say it is almost impossible to distinguish between actual orders and duplicates.

Inconsistencies like these hark back to a past the semiconductor industry was supposed to have jettisoned.

Read More »Automakers & Chipmakers March Towards a New Clash of Interests

By Peter Clarke

What’s a stake: 
India’s semiconductor dream has just gotten a much needed reset. Partially at stake is India’s progress as a newly industrialized country. Also it matters to India’s ability to compete with China, Europe and other regions. If India’s 18-month-old semiconductor incentive scheme flops it could deny the subcontinent leverage in accessing leading-edge electronics, optoelectronics and quantum technology for many years to come.

Read More »India’s Chip Policy Reset Will Alter Its Future

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
The chip shortage paralyzed the automotive industry during the pandemic. What have carmakers learned and what new strategies have emerged?

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically shrank the availability of semiconductor chips and decimated the automotive industry. Finally, in mid-2023. “The worst of the fallout seems to have settled, and the auto industry has found a new normal,” according to recent analysis by S&P Global Mobility. The report said, “In short, the dearth of supply of semiconductor chips that hobbled vehicle production for most of 2021 and 2022 has faded into the background — with some exceptions.”

However, it’s unclear which lessons car OEMs learned, and whether their new strategy – devised to deal with “a new normal” – will work.

Read More »Adjusting to New Normal in Auto Supply Chain

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Silicon Box, perceiving the absence of capacity for advanced packaging for chiplets, is charging in to fill the gap. Its foundry model focuses solely on chiplets – something never done before. The semiconductor startup begins life in Singapore with a commitment to spend $2 billion on advanced semiconductor foundry. Its advent confirms the chiplets story is only just beginning with many turns and twists to come.

Silicon Box is offering chiplet services ranging from design to manufacturing and advanced packaging. The newborn company claims that its first production line is already running, with samples being delivered to customers. They say it is ready for volume production later this year.

This is the story of how Silicon Box came about, who’s behind it, and how they plan to change the industry’s infrastructure to support chiplets.

Read More »Defying Doubters, Silicon Box Plans Chiplet Foundry

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. CEO Lisa Su is flummoxed.

That isn’t a position typical for Su but finding an alternate source for the advanced chips TSMC produces for AMD has the company’s boss rolled up in a ball of yarn.

Read More »The Only Substitute for TSMC Right Now is TSMC

By Bolaji Ojo

Has China become the single nation Western electronics manufacturers cannot do without?

This is the question on observers’ minds after the CEOs of Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc., and other chipmakers trooped to Washington DC on Monday to try and avert the imposition of a new slate of restrictions on the sales of high-end semiconductors to Chinese OEMs.

Read More »China: Irreplaceable Western Supply Chain ‘Frenemy’?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Cheered by the CHIPS and Science Act and a spike in demand for AI, semiconductor industry executives are flirting with euphoria. Many gleefully tell us,“Chip guys are finally getting a little respect.” But with greater esteem comes greater responsibility. How many chip businesses are making measurable and transparent commitments to growing and operating sustainably?

Read More »Math Quiz: 2X Growth or 4X Carbon?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Chiplets and heterogenous integration are about to change the way electronic systems are designed, tested, and manufactured. Semiconductor industry prophets believe that future is inevitable. They believe heterogenous, multi-chiplet architectures can reduce cost and power consumption compared with latest design nodes. Despite broad acceptance of this forecast, a question lingers: Who’s ready to do the heavy lifting?

Read More »Where Are AMD, Intel & Qualcomm in the Chiplet Rush?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Using AI as a tool is an idea broadly embraced in the semiconductor industry. But putting AI into practice needs validated data easily shared within the flow of design, testing and manufacturing. Stakes are high for an industry that must now forced to handle data coming from many sources in different forms.

The semiconductor industry’s quest for consistent data is foremost in discussions at the Semicon West and Design Automation Conference this week in San Francisco.

Read More »Moving AI-Driven Data Between Tools and Fabs