These are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories in the week of January 8-12:
Taiwan braces for Chinese 'missile' strike following Defense Ministry comms blunder
At 3:17 pm, January 9, residents in Taiwan received a mobile phone alert issued in English and Chinese by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) warning that a missile was on its way. The English version read, "[Air raid Alert] Missile flyover Taiwan airspace, be aware." Unsurprisingly, the message caused widespread panic in Taiwan among Taiwan's non-Chinese-speaking population. The Chinese version, less alarmingly, explained that at 15:04 China had launched a satellite that had already crossed the Island's southern airspace.
Alibaba, Tencent, and others reportedly express little interest in new Nvidia chips
According to recent Chinese media reports, Alibaba, Tencent, and other Chinese Big Tech giants have shown little interest in purchasing Nvidia's upcoming solely Chinese-market- AI chips, which were customized amidst the tightening US ban and the expansion of controls on GPU computing capacity. Nvidia's Chinese clients are actively exploring alternatives due to the significantly inferior performance of its processors developed for the Chinese market, which they refer to as "downgraded" chips, according to Chinese media reports.
Prototype-ready Indian fabless startup aims to provide 70% of high-end features at 60% cost
A leading Indian fabless startup, which recently progressed its first chip to the prototype production stage at the foundry, plans to distinguish itself by targeting the mid-range market segment. In a recent interview with Digitimes Asia, Shashwath T R and Sharan Jagathrakshakan, co-founders of Mindgrove Technologies, mentioned that they benchmark themselves against companies like Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductors, and Renesas in terms of quality.
Chinese foundry expansion raises concerns of oversupply and price pressure for Taiwanese mature-process wafer fabs
The continuous expansion of mature process capacity by Chinese foundries is causing significant concerns in the semiconductor industry, as it might lead to oversupply and downward pressure on foundry quotes, particularly impacting Taiwanese foundries specializing in mature processes, according to industry sources. The downward pressure on foundry quotes, which emerged in 2023, continues to affect Taiwanese foundries specializing in mature processes, but industry insiders see opportunities for Taiwanese IC design companies.
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat competing to become the first chip hub in India
India's southern state of Tamil Nadu unveiled a policy to promote chipmaking and IC design industries to develop the region as India's electronics and semiconductor powerhouse, as the state is competing with Gujarat to build India's first semiconductor ecosystem. The Tamil Nadu Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Policy 2024 intends to raise the state's contribution to India's electronics exports from 30% to 40% by 2030 and develop a skilled workforce of 200,000 individuals in the sector.
Encore! SK Hynix boasts reusable CMP breakthrough
SK Hynix has successfully developed a "grinding pad reuse technology" for Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) processes. It is expected to be introduced to the production line in 2024. The tech has the potential to reduce manufacturing costs and environmental pollution. Typically, wafers go through the CMP process, which involves polishing and removing impurities, with CMP grinding pads and slurries being crucial materials and components.
TSMC continues expanding CoWoS packaging capacity
TSMC continues to expand its CoWoS packaging capacity despite recent market rumors suggesting Nvidia has scaled back its orders with the foundry for 2024, according to industry sources. Recent market rumors indicate that Nvidia's revenue in China has collapsed, and other markets cannot fill China's massive demand gap. In addition, the HGX H200, the next-generation GPU to succeed the H100, will be available in the second quarter, with volume increasing in the third.
