US President Donald Trump, now back in the White House, has once again set his sights on TSMC. Previously, his administration championed the semiconductor supply chain crisis as a national security issue, urging the Taiwanese chip giant to establish manufacturing in the US. Now, the stakes have risen—Trump is threatening to freeze CHIPS Act subsidies, impose new semiconductor taxes, and, in an even more audacious move, reportedly demand that TSMC step in to save Intel.

China’s startup, DeepSeek, has unveiled a low-cost open-source AI model, igniting optimism in the market about potential reductions in AI costs and advancements in edge computing. The company’s continued open-source initiatives have been met with positive feedback from developers, underscoring growing enthusiasm for accessible AI tools. However, Ubitus’s CEO, Wesley Kuo caution that while DeepSeek’s large model holds promise, it remains better suited for cloud-based applications at this stage. The company still faces significant challenges in the edge AI space, where established models from competitors continue to hold sway.

With non-Chinese markets entering their traditional off-season and the Chinese market lacking a nationwide shopping promotion event, overall smartphone shipments by Chinese brands are expected to decrease by 9.7% on quarter in the first quarter of 2025 after enjoying good sequential growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to DIGITIMES’ latest report covering China’s smartphone industry.