Topic: semiconductor manufacturing
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TSMC struggles to meet surging AI chip demand
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei acknowledged the company is struggling to meet surging demand for AI semiconductors from U.S. clients, stating they are working to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The chip supply strain extends beyond TSMC, with the AI boom causing a severe shortage of RAM and NAND Flash memory tha...
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Europe's €91M Diamond Microscope Bet: The Next ASML?
QuantumDiamonds, a Munich-based startup, has secured €91 million in funding under the European Chips Act to commercialize diamond-based quantum sensors for advanced chip inspection. The technology uses diamond quantum sensors to detect atomic-level defects in silicon wafers faster and more precis...
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Intel backs $3.3bn glass-substrate plant in India’s Odisha
Intel is investing $3.3 billion in a glass-substrate manufacturing plant in Odisha, India, in partnership with 3D Glass Solutions, marking a major advancement for India's semiconductor packaging ambitions. Glass substrates offer superior thermal and electrical properties over traditional material...
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NVIDIA's Strategic Focus on TSMC: A Deepening Partnership
A key manufacturer along the Xindian River produces wafers for NVIDIA's H100 and GB200 accelerators using the advanced 4NP process, meeting high demand for computing components. TSMC's transition to 3 nm technology increases transistor density, essential for managing power in next-gen AI clusters...
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EU-Backed QuantumDiamonds Aims to Speed Up Chip Manufacturing
QuantumDiamonds, a German startup, has secured €76 million in EU Chips Act funding and €15 million in equity to build a Munich facility for semiconductor testing equipment, aiming to accelerate chip manufacturing. The company’s quantum sensing technology can detect chip defects through all layers...
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CXMT surges 466% on debut, becomes China's most valuable onshore firm
CXMT, a Chinese DRAM chipmaker, surged 466% on its Shanghai trading debut, reaching a valuation of 3.28 trillion yuan ($485 billion) and becoming the most valuable publicly traded company on China’s onshore market. The company specializes in DRAM memory chips, a key component in smartphones and d...
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EU tech package limits US cloud, launches Chips Act 2.0
The European Commission's new "tech sovereignty package" includes the "Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA)" , which establishes four tiers of sovereignty for public-sector cloud use to reduce reliance on US providers by requiring structural independence from foreign legal jurisdictions like t...
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iPhone Prices Set to Rise: What You Need to Know
Apple iPhone prices are set to rise significantly due to "chipflation," a permanent shift driven by an unprecedented shortage in DRAM and NAND flash memory supply. This scarcity has reversed decades of cost declines, with component costs for smartphones increasing by over 300 percent in recent qu...
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Intel Invests $5.7 Billion in Xeon Chip Production in Ireland
Intel announced a $5.7 billion investment to expand Xeon chip production at its Leixlip campus in Ireland. Instead of building a new plant, the company will upgrade existing fabs with cutting-edge equipment and an expanded automated wafer transport system. This strategy aims to boost output effic...
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US Reportedly Pressured Taiwan to Invest $250B in US Chip Production
The U.S. and Taiwan have reached a trade agreement that lowers U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods in exchange for a $250 billion investment from Taiwanese tech firms to build semiconductor plants in America. The deal includes specific tariff concessions for Taiwanese companies during factory constru...
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Chip Startup xLight: When Uncle Sam Is a Major Shareholder
The U.S. government plans a $150 million equity investment in semiconductor startup xLight, marking a significant expansion of its strategy to take direct ownership stakes in private tech firms. The investment, driven by national security and technological leadership goals, is causing unease in S...
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SpaceX's Terafab opts for natural gas over Tesla solar
SpaceX will build natural gas power plants with large battery arrays to power its Terafab semiconductor facility in Texas, marking a shift away from renewable energy with no mention of solar power despite Tesla's partnership. The project, located in Grimes County, benefits from a 100% tax abateme...
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Ex-Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Invests in PowerLattice's Power-Saving Chiplet
The surging demand for AI is straining global compute capacity and energy resources, making power consumption a critical industry bottleneck and driving the need for more efficient semiconductor solutions. PowerLattice, a startup founded in 2023, has developed a power delivery chiplet that positi...
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The Hidden Forever Chemicals in Your Computer Chips
Forever chemicals (PFAS) are persistent in the environment and human tissue, with widespread exposure linked to serious health issues like cancer and hypertension. Regulatory efforts have seen some success, including reduced usage and federal drinking water limits, but newer PFAS variants and rel...
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Why Fear the GPU?
GPUs, originally designed for graphics rendering, have become the foundation of modern AI, enabling parallel processing that powers neural network training and inference in massive data centers worldwide. The manufacturing and operation of GPUs raise significant ethical and environmental concerns...
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Advantest Hit by Ransomware Attack, Disrupting Chip Testing
Advantest, a key global semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer, confirmed a ransomware attack on its corporate network first detected in February 2026, though core production appears unaffected. The full impact, including whether sensitive customer or employee data was compromised, remains ...
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Unlock the Future of Deep Tech at StrictlyVC Palo Alto
The final StrictlyVC event of the year in Palo Alto will feature founders and investors at the forefront of deep technology, offering early insights into groundbreaking innovations. Key speakers include Nicholas Kelez, who is developing next-generation semiconductor equipment; Mina Fahmi, present...
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Discover the Future in Palo Alto
The final StrictlyVC event of 2025 in Palo Alto showcases innovators like Nicholas Kelez, who is developing a particle accelerator-based alternative to costly semiconductor manufacturing lasers to bring production back to the U.S. Featured speakers include Mina Fahmi, co-creator of the Stream Rin...
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Chinese AI Lab Builds Giant Data Center Without Nvidia Chips
Z.AI (formerly Zhipu) has begun operating a massive new data center powered entirely by domestically produced processors, avoiding U.S.-made chips like Nvidia's GPUs. This move signals a strategic shift in China's tech sector toward long-term independence from foreign hardware, despite the gap in...
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The Rare Earth Metal Fueling US-China Tensions
A supply crisis for the rare earth metal yttrium is escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, causing price surges and shipment delays that threaten advanced technology manufacturing globally. Yttrium is indispensable for its thermal and mechanical strength in critical applications like air...
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