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[News] Biden Tightens Control on 14/16nm Chip Exports; Expands Blacklist to Include China’s Sophgo


2025-01-16 Semiconductors editor

In its final days, the Biden administration aims to solidify its tech restrictions on China indeed, as it unveils sweeping controls on chips again. The latest effort, as per the reports from Bloomberg and Tom’s Hardware, plans stricter export controls on chips from TSMC, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Samsung and others, targeting processors with 30 billion transistors made on 14nm, 16nm, or more cutting-edge nodes.

Tough 14/16nm Chip Export Rules on a Large Scale

The Bloomberg report notes that chip designers from the U.S., Taiwan, or allied nations may apply for a license to sell to “authorized customers.” On the other hand, chips with fewer than 30 billion transistors or packaged by trusted firms will not be considered advanced and will be exempt from the new restrictions, the report adds.

Notably, according to Tom’s Hardware, most modern processors use FinFET transistors and 14nm, 16nm, or more advanced technologies. This includes many processors like SSD controllers, smartphone CPUs, and client PC CPUs. Since most client processors (except GPUs) have fewer than 30 billion transistors and are packaged by trusted companies, they will likely be exempt from U.S. export controls.

However, Tom’s Hardware also brings up concerns on the impact to major semiconductor companies. While the new export rules have little to do with the vast majority of chips for client devices, they force AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA to apply for an export license when selling mainstream GPUs to a Chinese entity, the report indicates.

Blacklist Expanded to 25 Entities, with China’s Sophgo Included

In addition to that, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security also announced on January 15th new sanctions which target Chinese companies allegedly working under Beijing’s direction to boost China’s chip industry, including Sophgo Technologies, which was reportedly involved in Huawei’s access to TSMC chips in 2024.

According to Reuters, 25 China-based and two Singapore-based companies, including AI model developer Zhipu AI and Sophgo, were added to the U.S. trade blacklist.

Sophgo gained notice when a chip in Huawei’s Ascend 910B AI system reportedly matched one it sourced from TSMC, which has been disclosed in December, 2024. The company then joins other firms penalized for aiding Huawei, following similar trade restrictions on its shadow network earlier, as per Reuters.

Zhipu AI, backed by Alibaba and Tencent, was targeted for supporting China’s military with advanced AI research, the Reuters report suggests.

Prior to the aforementioned new curbs, in order to prevent advanced technology from falling into the hands of countries such as China and Russia, Biden introduced on Monday regulations featuring a three-tier system of chip trade limitations, in which allies like South Korea and Taiwan would reportedly be granted unrestricted access to American-designed AI chips.

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Please note that this article cites information from Bloomberg, Reuters, Tom’s Hardware and U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security.

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