Unisoc, a leading Chinese chip design company, has secured CNY4 billion (US$548 million) in equity financing, primarily through state-backed platforms including Pudong Venture Capital, Guotai Junan Securities, and Haitong Securities. This critical funding aims to accelerate research and development in 5G and IoT technologies, bolstering Unisoc's domestic market presence while enhancing its competitive edge globally.

The competitive pressure on the automobile sectors in China, Europe, and the US has increased. In response, Taiwanese chipmakers involved in crucial supply chains seek breakthroughs.

STMicroelectronics, while expanding production capacities in France and Italy, is also collaborating with Sanan Optoelectronics to establish a SiC fab in Chongqing, underscoring China's significant role in the automotive and semiconductor supply chains.

Thailand is set to make a significant stride in the semiconductor industry with the establishment of its first silicon carbide (SiC) wafer factory, which is expected to begin operation in 2027.

Each year, SEMICON has become a platform for industry players to showcase their advancements and evolved into a stage for nations participating in the global chip war to demonstrate their prowess and attract foreign investment through flashy national pavilions.

Onsemi, a global leader in integrated device manufacturing (IDM) for the automotive and industrial sectors, is leveraging the accelerating new energy vehicle market to fuel its growth. By establishing strategic partnerships with major international automakers, Onsemi is positioning itself at the forefront of this fast-evolving industry. Despite this, the company continues to confront short-term market headwinds, underscoring the challenges of navigating the complex path toward a green transition.

Electronic component firm Wellysun is shifting its focus from consumer to automotive electronics, capitalizing on the massive potential in this space as cars become increasingly smarter. Rather than engaging in price competition, the company is pursuing a value-oriented approach by focusing on the design and development of comprehensive solutions.

China-based Luxshare Precision Industry is deepening its involvement in the Apple supply chain, emerging as a growing threat to Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn), while also catching up with its Taiwanese counterpart in the automobile assembly sector.

Luxshare Precision Industry's entry into the future automobile market has not been as rapid as its Chinese competitors. However, market sources suggest that Luxshare may provide Chinese automakers with a more dependable and robust sense of security compared to Huawei.

The solar industry has officially entered the N-type TOPCon era, but it now faces a significant supply glut. Recently, bargain hunting has emerged in the solar sector, signaling the start of a major consolidation wave.

TSMC has seemingly picked a challenging time to build its first wafer fab in Europe, as the automobile industry it's targeting faces significant upheaval. Europe's major marques and tier-one suppliers are downsizing their production scales, laying off workers, or closing plants. The big players and their supply chains are having difficulties adapting their productions to vehicle electrification.

Intel's subsidiary Mobileye has recently decided to stop internal research and development of self-driving automotive FMCW LiDAR. The LiDAR R&D department is expected to be closed down before the end of 2024.

Samsung has secured US-based imaging chip company Ambarella as a customer for its 2nm process. Samsung will produce Ambarella's advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) chips, with mass production expected for late 2026 or 2027. This marks a crucial step for Samsung in enhancing its competitiveness in advanced process nodes.

There are reports of Samsung Electronics (Samsung) delaying the R&D of the automotive chip Exynos Auto and instead focusing on the development and mass-production of items including AI semiconductors and custom HBM, incorporating the "select and concentrate" strategy.

Rohm Semiconductor and United Automotive Electronic Systems (UAES), a major Tier-1 automotive supplier in China, have signed a long-term supply agreement for SiC power devices.

Among the major automotive chip and software giants - Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and Mobileye of Intel - the financial results for the second quarter of 2024 reveal a significant gap. Qualcomm's automotive business posted US$811 million, an 87% year-over-year increase, clearly outperforming NVIDIA's US$346 million, which saw a 37% increase, and Mobileye's US$439 million, down 3% year-over-year.

Rohm Semiconductor has announced the use of power modules equipped with the company's fourth-generation SiC MOSFET bare chips for traction inverters in three ZEEKR EV models manufactured by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely).

The highly anticipated Chinese AAA title, "Black Myth: Wukong," has finally been released. However, players quickly discovered that their hardware setup was the first challenge on their journey to the West.

Xpeng Inc. is looking for a manufacturing site in Europe, making it the latest Chinese electric vehicle maker seeking to mitigate the impact of import tariffs by building its cars in the region.

Taiwan's Acme Electronics is anticipating flat or slightly declining demand for its silicon carbide (SiC) powders used in electric vehicles (EVs) during the second half of 2024. To offset this impact, the company is actively exploring new applications for its products, according to company president Wen-hao Wu.

Despite the recent downturn in automotive chip demand, most Taiwan-based IC designers remain largely unaffected and continue to intensify their efforts in the market, according to industry sources.

Bloomberg previously reported that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has instructed EV companies like BYD and Geely to increase the procurement of domestic electronic components and accelerate the adoption of locally produced semiconductor chips. Although there was an informal target for EV companies to increase the share of domestic chips to 20% by 2025, progress has been slow.

Chinese automakers are accelerating the localization of automotive chips to avoid being bottlenecked by chip supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign chips.

China's self-sufficiency push for ICs has limited the ability of multinational automotive IC integrated device manufacturers (IDM) and fabless chipmakers to secure orders from the Chinese market, which is experiencing a significant rise in electric vehicle (EV) sales.

The automotive chip market has been in the doldrums of late, with major European and American IDMs and Taiwanese IC design firms alike anticipating a gloomy forecast for the third quarter, and no signs of impending recovery.