Around the web
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Seattle-based logistics giant Expeditors International of Washington Inc. said it had shut down most of its operating systems in response to a cyberattack disclosed Sunday. Numerous logistics professionals have raised grave concerns.
Wall Street Journal
Oil prices are climbing on fears that the Ukraine-Russia crisis will disrupt supply chains across the world.
BBC News
Intel is increasing its reliance on erstwhile rival TSMC in its attempt to boost sales and eventually regain dominance as the world leader in manufacturing scale and chip process technology.
EE Times
The semiconductor industry has long struggled with a notorious cycle of booms and nasty downturns. Now though, the industry is confident of beating the patterns of the past to extend what is an extraordinary run for the sector.
The Financial Times
Luxshare Precision Industry, an Apple Inc supplier, said on Monday it aims to raise up to CNY13.5 billion yuan (US$2.13 billion) to fund six projects, including building a production line for wearable devices.
Reuters
This week's announcement that India's Vedanta has tied up with Taiwan's Foxconn Technology to make chips is being lauded as proof that New Delhi is gaining traction with its plans to build a semiconductor industry. That's hardly the case.
Bloomberg
Arm has introduced its new Mali-C78AE image signal processor (ISP), which is added to its "AE" line of safety-capable IP suitable for ADAS and human vision applications.
Company release
Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger said Intel would be interested in participating if a consortium emerges to own the British semiconductor and software design company Arm.
Reuters
It was a darling with investors and customers. What happened next is more dramatic than anybody knows.
The Financial Times
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a conference call with analysts that regulators would not budge in their opposition to Nvidia's proposed $80 billion acquisition of Arm.
Venturebeat
Despite multiple COVID-19 resurgences, offline channel disruptions due to restrictions and sustained component shortages affecting OEMs, key SEA countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam) saw a 5% YoY growth in smartphone shipments in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research. At 96 million units, the 2021 shipments were the highest ever for a calendar year and more than the pre-pandemic levels.
Counterpoint
The Mercury Research CPU market share results are in for the fourth quarter of 2021, showing that AMD now comprises 25.6% of the overall x86 market, its highest share ever, partially on the strength of its increasing gaming console shipments.
Tom's Hardware Guide
Construction of TSMC's first advanced chip plant in the US is three to six months behind schedule.
Nikkei Electronics Asia
Will this metal recycling startup revolutionize the battery and clean energy sectors? (Feb 15, 2022)
Nth Cycle extracts critical metals from batteries for a second life through a special electrical recycling technology
Electrek
Tesla is receiving competing bids for a second Gigafactory in China, according to new documents released by a Chinese province. The automaker said that it expects to announce a new factory location this year. Tesla currently operates two main factories, Tesla Fremont and Gigafactory Shanghai, and it has Gigafactory Texas and Gigafactory Berlin slowly starting to ramp up production.
Electrek
Intel is close to buying Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor for about US$6 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, as the US company looks to advance its strategy of contract manufacturing chips for other businesses.
Reuters
AMD has received approval from all necessary authorities to proceed with the acquisition of Xilinx.
EE Times
Oil prices jumped Friday after a senior White House official warned that the US believes Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of Ukraine imminently.
Wall Street Journal
ASML has warned that an affiliate of a China company it previously accused of stealing its trade secrets has begun marketing products that could infringe on its intellectual property rights.
Bloomberg
In the early weeks of 2022, the government had to take drastic measures to ensure that (coal-fired) electricity is not interrupted, while in this same year it is leading the Group of 20, in which one of three priority issues is sustainable energy transition. It would be a gross oversimplification to pass quick judgement on any government facing one of the most challenging wicked problems - namely energy transition.
The Jakarta Post
(Bloomberg) -- Panasonic Corp. is renovating a facility in Japan to start testing mass production of a new type of lithium-ion battery that's championed by Tesla Inc. as the key to unlocking cheaper electric vehicles.
Yahoo! Finance
Intel to invest $1 billion in foundry innovation, becomes RISC-V International member (Feb 11, 2022)
Intel has just announced $1 billion for the foundry ecosystem. The company will prioritize investments in "capabilities that accelerate foundry customers' time to market - spanning intellectual property (IP), software tools, innovative chip architectures, and advanced packaging technologies." What's interesting is that it does not only cover x86 architecture but also Arm and RISC-V, with a focus on the latter, as Intel has just become a Premier member of RISC-V International.
CNX Software
Several experts expressed optimism. There are signs of improvement. The number of container ships in the queue for L.A.-Long Beach totaled 78 as of late Wednesday, down from a peak of 109 a month ago. The first phase of transport from Asia to North America is taking 7% less time now than it did in November. Pockets of worsening congestion are still easy to see. The protest blocking freight traffic from Detroit into Canada is starting to bite, as Ford was forced to idle a Canadian engine factory.
The $5 billion will be distributed to states over five years, with $615 million available in fiscal 2022. The first year of the program will prioritize EV charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors, particularly along the Interstate Highway System. Subsequently, states will be able to use funding to develop community charging infrastructure, a senior administration official told reporters on a press call.
Scientific American
10 Feb 2022
Sumco, a key supplier of silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry, said it has already sold out its production capacity through 2026, a sign shortages in the industry may not abate for years.
The Japan Times
Heavy investment is needed to increase capacity in the semiconductor industry and there is no immediate danger of oversupply, the CEO of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML said on Wednesday.
Reuters
Samsung Electronics is making the biggest change to its smartphone strategy in years by reorganizing around its big-selling Galaxy S and foldable Galaxy Z series of devices. The company plans to discontinue its Note lineup of stylus-equipped phones and instead distribute that capability across its portfolio while pushing premium foldables in its challenge to Apple.
Bloomberg
Renesas Electronics expects solid growth in revenue and profits in 2022 following a robust performance last year, amid a global semiconductor shortage.
Nikkei Electronics Asia
Teradyne reported higher fourth-quarter profit and revenue, helped by strong demand across test and industrial automation end markets.
MarketWatch
China's No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker ZTE has been quietly boosting its chip design capabilities as a US crackdown continues to hobble its bigger domestic rival, Huawei Technologies, Nikkei Asia has learned.
Nikkei Electronics Asia
The European Commission will ease funding rules for innovative semiconductor plants under plans announced on Tuesday as the European Union looks to boost its chip industry and cut its dependence on US and Asian supply.
Reuters
Highly complex infotainment systems are vulnerable to malfunctions that only arise in highly complex systems.
Geek Wire
The co-founder of exercise brand Peloton is to step down from leading the company as it plans to cut thousands of jobs.
BBC News
SoftBank has shelved its blockbuster sale of Arm to US chipmaker Nvidia valued at up to US$80 billion citing regulatory hurdles and will instead seek to list the company.
Reuters
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