By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake?
As Volkswagen rapidly loses market share in China, its 2.4 billion-euro investment in Horizon Robotics might be interpreted as a desperate act. Or could it be that Volkswagen has a secret deal brewing with the Chinese government?

Volkswagen AG, one of the world’s largest automakers, has made possibly the boldest move in the technology/automotive world by becoming the first western company to entrust its software and hardware future to Horizon Robotics, China’s national champion in the development of AI hardware and software.

By Junko Yosihida

What’s at stake?
Auto parts manufacturer Magna’s collaboration with Mobileye in forward-looking cameras fueled Mobileye’s effort to dominate the ADAS market. Can Magna repeat that success in the emerging in-cabin camera market for driver and occupant monitoring — this time with Australia’s Seeing Machines?

By George Leopold

What’s at stake:
As conventional CMOS technology hits fundamental limits, researchers are proposing new modeling tools to optimize next-generation materials. The result could be novel low-power devices needed for emerging applications.

By Bolaji Ojo & Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake? 
TSMC is thriving, but the world’s largest chip foundry faces unique challenges that cannot be resolved by simply perfecting its leading-edge technologies, building more fabs or moving closer to its customers.

China and its intentions toward Taiwan were the dragon in the room during Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) third-quarter financial report on Thursday (Oct. 13).

By Gary Hilson

What’s at stake:
Despite billions of dollars announced for onshore facilities, it will take domestic suppliers years to navigate workforce development, equipment acquisition and offshore dependencies.

By Junko Yoshida

[Editor’s note: This story was upated on Oct. 13]

As the E.U. rolls out semiconductor subsidies, intense speculation has focused on whether or not Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will build a fab in Europe.

During the Q3 financial result call Thursday, C. C. Wei, Chief Executive Officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., acknowledged for the first time, it is “in preliminary evaluation” for a fab in Europe.

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Details of Mobileye’s anticipated IPO have emerged. We don’t know the date, the number of shares or the price range. Given that Intel has seen the IPO’s potential value drop from $50 billion to around $30 billion, the question is: What’s Intel’s big hurry for Mobileye to go public? The answer is simple: Odds of Mobileye’s valuation increasing any time soon are slim.

Investors and automotive industry observers are asking what’s behind Mobileye’s IPO? And why now?

By Bolaji Ojo