Tag - chipmakers

 
 

CHIPMAKERS

Most of the grant funding for U.S. President Joe Biden's ambitious Chips and Science Act has been awarded, and the initiative has spurred more than $400 billion in planned company investments. But much of the job remains unfinished — and broader upheaval in the chip industry will only add to the challenges.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 18, 2025
Biden’s chips team hands off $52 billion program to a skeptical Trump
Before the election, Donald Trump described the Chips Act as "so bad” and suggested tariffs would be a better solution.
Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Jan 17, 2025
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
The CEO and president of Rapidus says the chip venture in Hokkaido is key to Japan's fortunes.
SoftBank's Arm Holdings may be interested in taking over chip designer Ampere Computing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2025
SoftBank's chip designer Arm considers acquiring Ampere Computing
Oracle-backed Ampere makes processors for data center machinery using Arm’s technology.
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 14, 2025
White House unveils new curbs on exporting Nvidia AI chips
The rules, which are set to take effect in one year, establish caps on the amount of computing power that can be sold to most countries.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 9, 2025
Biden to further limit AI chip exports in final push
The regulations would create three tiers of chip trade restrictions, granting full access to allies, limited access to most of the world and virtually no access to adversaries.
Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, speaks during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025
Nvidia slides after unveiling leaves investors wanting more
Though Nvidia’s latest announcements gave an upbeat view of the company’s long-range prospects, there wasn’t as much near-term upside as some investors had sought.
An attendee looks at a prototype of a 2-nanometer gate-all-around wafer produced by Rapidus and International Business Machines Corp. at the Semicon Japan exhibition in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 3, 2025
Japanese chip industry poised for a comeback
Chipmakers will either begin operating a pilot line or start production at new plants this year.
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2024
Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s arrival in Kumamoto has heightened the need to adapt to the needs of Taiwanese families.
Sales of Ibiden's AI-use substrates are robust, with customers buying up all the company can sell.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 30, 2024
Nvidia supplier Ibiden weighs faster expansion for AI demand
Sales of the 112-year-old company’s AI-use substrates are robust, with customers buying up all that Ibiden can sell, CEO Koji Kawashima said in an interview.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on Oct. 17.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 30, 2024
Hokkaido 2024: Looking back on Rapidus, bears and shinkansen
The key topics are expected to continue making headlines in 2025.
The government plans to invest ¥100 billion in Rapidus under its fiscal 2025 budget.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 26, 2024
Japanese government to invest ¥100 billion in Rapidus in 2025
The government hopes its investment will encourage private funding for the chipmaker, which is building a plant to produce next-generation semiconductors.
Japan is considering introducing a system to allow the government to temporarily acquire factories to prevent important technologies from being taken abroad.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024
Japan plans system for temporary control of key plants during emergencies
The system would be activated when production of specified critical products designated in the economic security promotion law are disrupted.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Washington on Dec. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
Biden launches new Chinese chip trade probe, which will be handed off to Trump
The effort could offer Trump a ready avenue to begin imposing some of the hefty 60% tariffs he has threatened on Chinese imports.
The flag of China is seen next to the elements of gallium and germanium on a periodic table.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 23, 2024
Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
Beijing this month slapped a ban on U.S.-bound exports of gallium, germanium and antimony in a tit-for-tat move in a technology trade war.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024
Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams
Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of semiconductor company Micron, addresses Semicon India 2023, India’s annual semiconductor conference, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat state. India is trying to boost domestic chip production, a strategic move for its industrial growth and economic security.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024
India’s budding chip industry: A cause for cautious optimism
Amid the global "chip war," India has entered the fray as it tries to become a semiconductor leader, a move welcomed by those diversifying supply chains away from China.
Nobuo Hayasaka, president of Kioxia Holdings, reacts after striking a bell during the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Chipmaker Kioxia surges 12% in Tokyo debut after jumbo IPO
Shares in the producer of NAND memory chips extended gains in afternoon trading after initially dropping, valuing the firm at ¥877 billion ($5.7 billion).
Honmoku pier in Yokohama. While the value of exports has risen, trade is giving limited support to the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 18, 2024
Weak yen helps Japan’s exports rise ahead of BOJ meet
Exports measured in value rose 3.8% from a year earlier led by chipmaking machinery and nonferrous metals.
Daishiro Yamagiwa, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's group for semiconductors, says a project to develop a domestic manufacturer of next-generation semiconductors is a battle for the nation's survival.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Japan to support Rapidus even if it delays goal, chip czar says
"We’ve carried out our semiconductor strategy with determination and the Rapidus project is a core part of the strategy,” Daishiro Yamagiwa said.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go