TSMC’s US$100 billion US leap under Trump’s pressure: winners and losers
As expected, TSMC has succumbed to ongoing pressure from US President Donald Trump in the last six months.
04
Mar
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Mar
Enosemi and Jabil form alliance to advance photonic chip packaging
In a landmark announcement on March 3, Enosemi and Jabil unveiled a sophisticated collaboration to pioneer advanced packaging process technology for Enosemi’s cutting-edge photonic chips. As the computational demands of cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) escalate in both scope and intricacy, interconnects have emerged as a critical choke point, impeding optimal system performance.
04
Mar
TV panel prices surge: When will purchasing momentum reverse?
As panel manufacturers normalize production cuts, traditional seasonal dynamics have reversed over the past two years. Following US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, a series of tariff policies further impacted the inventory rhythm within the LCD television supply chain.
04
Mar
CATL pursues arbitration against Powin under geopolitical tensions and market shifts
Recently, Chinese lithium battery powerhouse Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) announced it had initiated arbitration proceedings with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) against US energy storage company Powin. CATL claims Powin owes CNY319 million (US$43 million) and is seeking the seizure of Powin’s assets. The same complaint has also been filed with the US Circuit Court in Oregon.
04
Mar
Microchip Technology restructures: 2,000 layoffs across US and Philippines amidst automotive chip slump
Microchip Technology is undergoing significant restructuring in response to a downturn in the automotive chip market. The company has announced the layoff of approximately 2,000 employees, representing 9% of its total workforce. The layoffs will affect facilities in the US, Philippines, and other locations, with particular impact on its Gresham Fab 4 in Oregon, Fab 5 in Colorado Springs, and backend manufacturing plant in the Philippines. These workforce reductions are part of a broader plan to reduce operating costs as the automotive chip sector faces challenges.
04
Mar
IBM advances AI with Granite 3.2, incorporating on-demand reasoning and first vision-language model
IBM has recently released the Granite 3.2 series of open-source AI models, enhancing inference capabilities and introducing its first vision-language model (VLM) while continuing advancements in time-series models. Notably, a toggleable reasoning mode is available to help reduce unnecessary computing costs.
04
Mar
Taiwan Premier: TSMC’s US$100 billion expansion abroad won’t compromise national tech edge
Following C. C. Wei, the chairman and CEO of TSMC, being invited to the White House to announce substantial investments in the US, questions have emerged regarding whether TSMC had previously received verbal approval from Taiwan’s high-level government officials for this overseas expansion.
04
Mar
SK Hynix America sees revenues soar in 2024 amid high demand for advanced memory products
SK Hynix America, the US branch of SK Hynix, is seeing significant revenue growth due to the demand for HBM. In 2024, its revenue rose about 2.6 times from the previous year.
04
Mar
Huawei takes center stage at MWC 2025 with groundbreaking triple-fold smartphone launch
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 commenced on March 3 in Barcelona, drawing significant attention with Huawei emerging as the most prominent exhibitor at the event. The tech giant occupied half of the available exhibition space and made headlines by unveiling the world’s first commercial triple-fold smartphone.
04
Mar
Elan upbeat about notebook growth; to ship fingerprint recognition solutions for AI PCs in 2H25
Taiwan-based Elan Microelectronics, a major provider of touch controller chip solutions, has disclosed that significant order momentum for product lines offering high gross profits boosted both revenue and gross profit margins in 2024. The company is cautiously optimistic about the market in 2025.