Americas Chip Funding Energizes Industry


This is the second in a series of articles tracking government chip investments. See part one here (global),  part 3 covering EMEA is here and Asia here. Since the first announcement of a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with BAE Systems in December 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce has rolled out comprehensive plans to support more than a dozen companies in order to shore up... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a notice of intent  to fund new R&D activities to establish and accelerate domestic advanced packaging capacity. CHIPS for America expects to award up to $1.6 billion in funding innovation across five R&D areas, as outlined in the vision for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), with about $150 million per award in each... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Samsung and Synopsys collaborated on the first production tapeout of a high-performance mobile SoC design, including CPUs and GPUs, using the Synopsys.ai EDA suite on Samsung Foundry's gate-all-around (GAA) process. Samsung plans to begin mass production of 2nm process GAA chips in 2025, reports BusinessKorea. UMC developed the first radio frequency silicon on insulator (RF-SOI)-based 3D IC ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


AI predictions and announcements filled the news this week, including a statement from the Center for AI Safety that was signed by some top AI execs — including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI — warning that uncontrolled AI could end up smarter than us and lead to our extinction. Foxconn estimates its artificial intelligence server revenue will double this year with the popularity of generative A... » read more

Research Bits: April 25


Superconductor breakthrough — palladium Palladium may be a better superconductor than even nickelates (superconductors based on nickel), according to research by TU Wien working with Japanese universities. The research shows that palladates may be a ‘Goldilocks material’ in which it can continue its superconducting state at a higher temperature. "Palladium is directly one line below n... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Public USB phone charging stations are now another vector that bad actors can use to plant malware and steal data on devices — known as "juice jacking," according to the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is encouraging people to stay away from these public charging stations, found in airports and hotels, because of bad actors can install malware on the charging... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


The U.S. Commerce Department outlined proposed rules for the Chips for America Incentives Program, including additional details on national security measures applicable to the CHIPS Incentives Program included in the CHIPS and Science Act. The rules limit funding recipients from investing in the expansion of semiconductor manufacturing in foreign countries of concern, notably the People’s Rep... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


Global semiconductor sales hit $45.5 billion during the month of November 2022, according to SIA’s January announcement. Year-over-year sales increased in November in the Americas (5.2%), Europe (4.5%), and Japan (1.2%), but decreased in Asia Pacific/rest of world (-13.9%) and China (-21.2%). Month-to-month sales were down across all regions. The United States, Mexico and Canada vowed to... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


Nikkei Asia reports the U.S. is urging allies, including Japan, to restrict exports of advanced semiconductors and related technology to China. The U.S. holds 12% of the global semiconductor market, Japan has a 15% share, while Taiwan and South Korea each have about a 20% share. Some U.S. companies have called for other countries to adopt U.S.-style export curbs, arguing it is unfair for only A... » read more

Startup Funding: September 2020


It was a good month for startups, with big rounds in automotive, data centers, and AI. A new startup with big backing is taking aim at energy inefficiency in the data center, and another is looking to make the industrial IoT battery-free. SK Hynix founded a new company to analyze semiconductor manufacturing data, and one of China's EV companies sees a massive cash infusion. This month, we look ... » read more

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