Well, it’s official, the TSMC Board of Directors approved an investment to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Arizona with a paid-in capital of $3.5 billion. As history shows the investment may be more than that but $3.5B is a great starting point. This is being discussed in the SemiWiki Forum and I have been gathering inside… Read More
AMD and Intel Update with Xilinx
The AMD acquisition of Xilinx is certainly big news but as an insider looking at the media coverage I think there are a few more points to consider. While most of the coverage has been positive there will always be negatives and we can look at that as well.
Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for $16.7B at a 50% premium which was a major disruption… Read More
Leading Edge Foundry Wafer Prices
I have seen several articles recently discussing foundry wafer selling prices for leading edge wafers, these articles all quote estimates from a paper by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). The paper is available here.
My company IC Knowledge LLC is the world leader in cost and price modeling of semiconductors… Read More
Are TSMC and Intel Partnering in Arizona?
After months of back and forth TSMC finally announced plans to build a fab in Arizona. The announcement was not made in the press or on the most recent investor call but on LinkedIn. A sign of the times I guess but since they need to hire a bunch of semiconductor people it was more than appropriate.
“We’re delighted to catch up with you … Read More
Intel TSMC Update!
Based on the Intel investor call yesterday here are some interesting comments Bob Swan made related to Intel outsourcing manufacturing and 7nm progress. Let’s start with the prepared statement:
Bob Swan: “Over the last couple of years, we have been focused on three critical priorities; improving our execution to strengthen … Read More
TSMC Sets the Stage for a Great 2021!
TSMC is the bellwether for not just the semiconductor industry but the worldwide economy. TSMC makes semiconductors, semiconductors are where electronics begin and electronics are the foundation of modern life, absolutely.
Apple is also a key economic indicator and as we all know Apple is a strategic partner of TSMC. The Apple… Read More
ASML is Strong Because TSMC is Hot!
- ASML has strong quarter lead by great Taiwan and EUV
- EUV “crossed over” DUV as revenue leader- signaling new era
- Taiwan doubles, China grows, Korea weaker, US further behind
ASML hits great numbers
ASML reported revenues of Euro 4B, with income of Euro 2.54EPS, both beating estimates handily. Ten EUV systems were … Read More
Three Things You Have Wrong About Intel!
First let me tell you that I have nothing but respect for Intel. I grew up with them in Silicon Valley and have experienced firsthand their brilliance and the many contributions they have made to the semiconductor industry. In fact, I can easily say the semiconductor ecosystem would not be what it is today without Intel.
But no company… Read More
Will the U.S. and China go to War for TSMC?
The semiconductor industry has never been more exciting than it is today and that is a mouthful given what we have accomplished over the last 50 years. From mainframe computers to a supercomputer in our pockets or on our wrists. Even if you don’t believe in miracles, semiconductor technology comes really close, absolutely.
5G, Hyperscaling and the Resurgence of Consumer Silicon
At the recent TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum and Technology virtual events, TSMC re-affirmed their previous prediction that 5G is going to be a multi-year silicon mega-trend with the biggest drivers being the ramp up of 5G handsets, supporting infrastructure and the continued growth of high performance computing (HPC).
We all want… Read More