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AMD shrugged off the concerns about supply-chain issues and COVID-related Chinese manufacturing shutdowns, reporting record revenue of US$5.887 billion (up 71%) for the first quarter of 2022. And while AMD's rivals expressed uncertainty regarding ongoing chip shortages as a result of COVID-related manufacturing shutdowns in China, AMD appears less worried. The topic wasn't even mentioned in the company's press release.
PC World
Shanghai is expected to open up gradually, following a brutal lockdown.
BBC News
The Biden administration is looking into claims that Yangtze Memory Technologies, a Chinese semiconductor maker, has supplied Huawei with chips, in a potential violation of US export controls.
The Financial Times
Texas Instruments tumbled in late trading Tuesday after China's ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns crimped the company's sales and profit forecasts, with the restrictions idling factories and slowing shipments.
Bloomberg
A sharp drop in graphic chip prices could presage an unexpectedly quick ending to a global chip crunch that has crippled manufacturing from smartphones to cars, and the issue will be a central one for companies reporting results this week.
Reuters
More and more car manufacturers now bet on SiC and GaN, and chipmakers are transforming their business to take advantage of the electric-vehicle market's explosive growth.
EE Times
The board of Twitter has agreed to a US$44bn takeover offer from the Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.
BBC News
Silicon Motion Technology is exploring a potential sale amid takeover interest in the semiconductor firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
At first blush, ASML's numbers look disappointing. But they're actually pointing to the same challenge and opportunity TSMC outlined last week: demand is so strong that it's tough to keep up.
Bloomberg
Toyota and Volkswagen are gradually bringing their China factories back on line after they were closed for weeks because of COVID lockdowns.
CNN
TSMC said it won't start production at its 2nm node until the second half of 2025 or possibly the end of that year, which could signal a shift in the competitive landscape.
The Register
The goals don't exactly sound ambitious. For example, while TSMC plans to hit 2nm by 2026, Russia wants 28nm local chip manufacturing by 2030.
TG Daily
China's quarterly production of semiconductors shrunk for the first time since early 2019 as consumer electronics demand softened and Covid-triggered lockdowns in regions including Shanghai disrupted output.
Bloomberg
Shanghai reported a record number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases on Saturday and other areas across China tightened controls as the country kept up its "dynamic clearance" approach that aims to stamp out the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Reuters
Shipments of some Apple products, as well as Dell and Lenovo laptops are likely to face delays if China's COVID-19 lockdowns persist, analysts say, as curbs force assemblers to shut down and closed-loop arrangements get harder to maintain.
Reuters
Chinese automakers may have to halt production in May if shutdowns persist in the Shanghai area, said the chief executive officer of electric-vehicle firm Xpeng, a bleak assessment of supply-chain disruptions in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns.
Bloomberg
Synopsys, the biggest supplier of software used to design semiconductors, is under investigation by the US Department of Commerce for possibly passing key technology to banned Chinese companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
The company pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its global operations by 2040, to increase the energy efficiency and lower the carbon footprint of Intel products and platforms with specific goals, and to work with customers and industry partners to create solutions that lower the greenhouse gas footprint of the entire technology ecosystem.
Company release
China's power battery installations in March were 21.4 GWh, up 138 percent year-on-year and up 56.6 percent from February, according to data released today by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
CN EV Post
According to recent comments from Toyota North America, the automaker expects to surpass the 200,000 vehicle threshold for EV sales sometime this summer, disqualifying itself from any additional tax credits in the United States under current legislation. Toyota's federal tax credits will be phased out just as the automaker plans to begin sales of its lone BEV, the bZ4X, later this year.
Electrek
The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities.
AP
Ericsson said it had suspended business with customers in Russia "indefinitely," extending a halt from February that was originally billed as temporary, following sanctions imposed as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Bloomberg
In late 2021, a team of Meta Platforms employees building a key chip for the second version of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses was notified that the company had decided to go with an alternative chip from Qualcomm, according to two people familiar with the matter. The custom chip would power a variety of functions, such as taking high-quality photos and videos, on the glasses. But Meta's augmented reality chief, Alex Himel, decided using it could delay the glasses' launch, expected next year.
The Information
China's President Xi Jinping has praised his country's handling of the Covid pandemic, even as Shanghai reported record case numbers.
BBC News
General Motors and Honda Motor said on Tuesday they will develop a series of lower-priced electric vehicles based on a new joint platform, producing potentially millions of cars from 2027 in a bid to beat Tesla in sales.
Reuters
Initially, there had been separate measures for the eastern and western sides, but the whole city is now subject to indefinite restrictions.
BBC News
"Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia's war against Ukraine and calling for a swift return to peace. Effective immediately, we have suspended all business operations in Russia. This follows our earlier decision to suspend all shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus," Intel said in a statement.
Company release
3M aims to restart PFAS-related manufacturing and continues to make non-PFAS related products at Zwijndrecht, a company spokesman said in an email to EE Times. The timeline to resolve the situation is uncertain and, in several aspects, not under 3M's control, the spokesman said. 3M has communicated with its customers about the potential for disruption.
EE Times
A huge political row has broken out in the UK about the ongoing plans to sell Newport Wafer Fab, one of the very few plants left in the country still making semiconductors, to a Dutch subsidiary of Chinese group Wingtech.
EETimes Europe
Musk could use his ownership stake to influence Twitter's business plan or its policies.
Ars Technica
The previous 4.7% growth forecast has been cut to 2.5% due to "the impact of the war and related policies", said WTO boss Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
BBC News
Russia is turning to microchip manufactures in China to circumvent western sanctions which have boosted demand for bank cards linked to the Mir payment system, an executive with the domestic payment system said.
Reuters
AMD has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pensando for approximately US$1.9 billion before working capital and other adjustments.
Company release
Spain plans to invest EUR11 billion euros (US$12.4 billion) to develop microchips and semiconductors in a bid to modernize its tourism-dependent economy.
Bloomberg
Tesla has notified workers and suppliers that production at its Shanghai factory will not resume on Monday as it had hoped, according to an internal notice shared with Reuters.
Reuters
US automaker Tesla is suspending production at its Shanghai factory for four days after the financial hub said on Sunday it would lock down in two stages to carry out mass testing for COVID 19, two people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters
"They're interested in us using their foundries," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regarding Intel, during a virtual press conference on Wednesday. "We're very interested in exploring it."
The Register
TSMC and Samsung Electronics have urged the US to allow foreign companies to participate in a $52 billion federal program aimed at boosting chip production on American soil.
Bloomberg
Apple plans to make about 20% fewer iPhone SEs next quarter than originally planned, in one of the first signs that the Ukraine war and looming inflation have started to dent consumer electronics demand, sources briefed on the matter told Nikkei Asia.
Nikkei Asia
AspenCore's PowerUP Expo 2021 devoted a full day to wide-bandgap semiconductors, specifically gallium nitride and silicon carbide. The WBG panel discussion focused on "the next wave of GaN and SiC," taking its cue from the day's topic presentations, including new product developments, technology challenges, and wafer manufacturing.
EE Times
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