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Semiconductorsi

Semiconductors are the cornerstone technology of the information age. These tiny electronic devices, usually smaller than a postage stamp, power the modern economy by acting as data-processing brains for products, from smartphones to cars and spacecraft.

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  • American vulnerability to Chinese overcapacity also a concern being tackled, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo tells key House Appropriations committee
  • Testimony follows recent US decision to prohibit tech titans Qualcomm and Intel from supplying less advanced chips to China’s Huawei
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On Tuesday, the US revoked licenses allowing Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant blacklisted by the US, to buy semiconductors from Intel and rival Qualcomm Inc.

Further restrictions on access to Intel and Qualcomm chips would pose challenges to Huawei’s PC business, which has been gaining ground in the China market.

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Alat CEO Amit Midha said the only request so far has been to keep supply chains separate, but it would divest if asked because the ‘US is the number one partner for us’.

Apple is developing a chip to run AI tools on servers, but it is unclear if the tech giant will deploy it, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The South Korean memory chip maker has already sold out its high-bandwidth memory chips for this year, as enterprises aggressively expand artificial intelligence services.

Several Chinese online media outlets falsely reported that a Tokyo-based research firm found more than 90 per cent of the handset’s parts to be domestically sourced.

Total venture-capital investment in China in the first quarter fell 30 per cent quarter on quarter to US$11.5 billion amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, though China still accounted for eight of the top 10 deals.

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The world’s largest memory chip maker posted better-than-expected net income that is more than four times the company’s earnings a year earlier.

Across 16 sectors, artificial intelligence unicorns are the highest valued, at an average of US$6.76 billion, followed by financial technology firms at US$6.57 billion.

King Yuan Electronics Co, one of the world’s largest chip testing and packaging services firms, has divested its entire stake in a subsidiary at manufacturing hub Suzhou in eastern China.

Huawei’s new Pura 70 smartphones, powered by a chip designed by its in-house unit HiSilicon, are set to help the Shenzhen-based tech champion regain the top position in China’s smartphone market.

The city’s focus on China-made graphics processing units shows how mainland authorities are scrambling to build up computing resources, despite US export restrictions on advanced chips.

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Chinese electric vehicle start-up Xpeng said its partnership with AI chip supplier Nvidia has not been affected by tighter US trade sanctions, but it will keep its options open with local suppliers.

China’s status as a ‘near-peer competitor’ is driving efforts to limit access to key technologies such as semiconductors and counter its global influence.

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TSMC, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, says a new chip-manufacturing technology called ‘A16’ will enter production in the second half of 2026.

Taiwan’s exports to the US in the first quarter beat shipments sent to mainland China, with analysts pointing to a ‘strategic plan’ by Washington to construct and lead a world supply chain and market order.

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Stunted economic growth on mainland and Sino-American political challenges weighed on 2023 decline led by agricultural and semiconductor shipments.

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Among the buyers were the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shandong Artificial Intelligence Institute, the Hubei Earthquake Administration and a state-run aviation research centre.

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Malaysia plans to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park that is part of its efforts to move beyond chip assembly and into high-value work

Lenovo has been strengthening its focus on AI amid a broader trend in the global PC industry to integrate the fast-developing technology into various products and services.

Dutch intelligence agencies first publicly attributed cyber espionage to China in February, when they said state-backed cyber spies had gained access to a Dutch military network last year.

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