[News] US Reportedly Expands Investigation into Applied Materials, Possibly due to Concerns of Shipments to SMIC

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Applied Materials, the largest US semiconductor equipment manufacturer, has received subpoenas from the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the US Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts in February, according to the latest report by Reuters.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report noted that Applied Materials is currently under investigation for allegedly sending equipment to SMIC, China’s leading chip maker, through South Korea without export licenses.

Previously, in November 2023, the semiconductor heavyweight received a subpoena from the US Commerce Department, requesting the company to provide information regarding specific shipments to Chinese customers, according to Reuters.

According to the financial report Applied Materials released in mid-May, China contributed 43% of its total revenue in the second quarter, while the country marked a 21% revenue share a year ago, showing a significant increase. On the other hand, Taiwanese and Korean markets contributed 15% of its total revenue, respectively, while the US market contributed 13%.

Recently, the U.S. government has been tightening sanctions on companies regarding their exports to China, in order to hinder the country from getting access to advanced technologies. In early May, the U.S. administration revoked the licenses of Intel and Qualcomm to supply semiconductor chips used in laptops and handsets to Huawei.