As per a report from Business Insider, Taiwanese AI server giant Wiwynn has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s social platform X (formerly Twitter), claiming it refused to pay USD 120 million for parts. However, this may not be the first time a major Taiwanese server manufacturer has encountered payment disputes with X.

According to a report from Economic Daily News, in the fourth quarter of 2022, MiTAC also faced issues when Musk took over Twitter, potentially leading to unpaid server bills.

After Musk took over Twitter, he aggressively implemented cost-cutting strategies, including layoffs and renegotiating orders with suppliers. MiTAC, as one of Twitter’s server suppliers, might also be impacted, recording a NTD 1.4 billion (around USD 44 million) write-down in inventory and bad debt provisions for accounts receivable in the fourth quarter of 2022.

This directly resulted in a NTD 346 million (roughly USD 10.8 million) loss for that quarter, marking only the second time MiTAC has reported a quarterly loss since its public listing.

Still, due to confidentiality, MiTAC has not disclosed the names of clients with delayed payments.

After navigating the downturn in Q4 2022, MiTAC saw a significant rebound in Q2 2023. During the traditionally slow season for servers, the company achieved notable growth in net profit, with a quarterly increase of 367.11% and a year-over-year increase of 34.72%, reaching an EPS of NT$0.59.

It is reported by Economic Daily News that the surge in profits was largely due to partial payments received from X. Additionally, MiTAC managed to either resell the components it previously reserved for X or retrieve them, which contributed to its soaring quarterly profits.

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• [News] Foxconn Confirms Shipment of NVIDIA’s GB200 to Start in Q4 as Planned
• [News] Foxconn Remains Unfazed Despite NVIDIA’s GB200 Delay, with Customers Aim to Secure Their Orders

(Photo credit: MiTAC)

According to a report from Economic Daily News, on the evening of August 21st, Foxconn announced plans to expand its investments, increasing capital in its subsidiaries located in the U.S., Mexico, India, and Europe. The total investment amounts to roughly USD 840 million.

First, Foxconn announced earlier that its subsidiary, Cloud Network Technology USA Inc., has acquired shares of Foxconn Assembly LLC. The transaction is valued at USD 253 million.

Sources cited by the Economic Daily News suggests that this move is looking to boost the production capacity of its plant in Houston, Texas. Foxconn currently manufactures AI servers in three locations across North America: Mexico, Wisconsin, and Texas. This indicates that Texas is gradually becoming a key hub for AI server production.

Secondly, Foxconn announced that its subsidiary, Cloud Network Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., has acquired shares of FII AMC MEXICO S. DE R.L. DE C.V. The transaction is valued at USD 241 million.

It is speculated by the Economic Daily News that this move is primarily aimed at increasing the production capacity of Foxconn’s subsidiary, FII (Foxconn Industrial Internet), in its Mexico plant.

FII previously stated that the initial production of the GB200 servers would start in Taiwan, with the related capacity already in place.

The first overseas production line for the GB200 servers is reportedly to be set up at the Mexico plant, which is already producing AI servers, with small-scale production of the GB200 expected to begin as early as the third quarter.

Thirdly, Foxconn announced that its subsidiary, Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited, has acquired 197 million ordinary shares of Foxconn Interconnect Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., valued at approximately EUR 180 million (roughly USD 200.53 million).

Per Economic Daily News, it is speculated that this move is related to Foxconn’s subsidiary, FIT (Foxconn Interconnect Technology), which previously announced the acquisition of shares in the German Auto-Kabel Group to strengthen its presence in the automotive electrification sector and expand its customer base.

Lastly, Foxconn announced that its subsidiary, Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd, has acquired 1.203 billion ordinary shares of Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Limited, valued at approximately USD 144 million .

Reportedly, it is speculated that this investment aims to boost the capital of Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary.

As Foxconn is preparing for mass production of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in India, this year marks the first time Apple is integrating AI applications (Apple Intelligence) into the latest iPhone 16 Pro series.

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• [News] Foxconn Confirms Shipment of NVIDIA’s GB200 to Start in Q4 as Planned
• [News] Foxconn Remains Unfazed Despite NVIDIA’s GB200 Delay, with Customers Aim to Secure Their Orders

(Photo credit: Foxconn)

China’s GPU company Lisuan Technology, based in Shanghai, has averted the crisis of bankruptcy, as it secures around 328 million yuan (nearly USD 46 billion) in financing from domestic NAND/ DRAM manufacturer Dosilicon and others, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Sina.

On August 20^th, Dosilicon made an announcement, stating that it plans to invest 200 million yuan of its own funds to increase the stake in Lisuan Tech. By subscribing to an additional 5 million yuan of Lisuan’s newly registered capital, the memory company will hold approximately 37.88% of Lisuan’s equity.

On the other hand, the report notes that other investors plan to inject a total of 128 million yuan to Lisuan, subscribing to a total of 3.2 million yuan in its newly added registered capital. In total, Lisuan Tech has received 328 million yuan in financing from Dosilicon and others.

Regarding the reasons behind the investment, the report indicates that there is a certain level of synergy between Dosilicon and its target company, Lisuan Tech. As Dosilicon has already established a portfolio of both standard and niche DRAM products, its R&D team can further engage in technical collaboration with the graphics rendering chip design team at Lisuan to enhance the design capabilities of both parties.

The report, citing public information, states that Lisuan Tech, with 20 years of experience in GPU development and design, is one of the few domestic companies in China capable of providing customized high-performance GPU solutions.

The firm’s first 6nm GPU, based on its self-developed ‘Pangu’ architecture, is ready for tape-out, the report suggests. The product even boasts to offer performance on par with NVIDIA’s high-end graphics cards.

However, due to delays in securing financing, the company has fallen into difficulties, with rumors circulating that it was facing bankruptcy.

According to the data cited by the report, in 2023, Lisuan had no revenue and a net loss of 145 million yuan. In the first half of 2024, it reported no revenue and a net loss of 97.9 million yuan. The bulk of the losses was said to stem from R&D investments.

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• [News] ASML Claims the World Counts on China for Legacy Chips; So Do Chip Equipment Giants
• [News] China Makes Progress in Chip Tool Self-Sufficiency, Yet Lithography Remains a Key Bottleneck

(Photo credit: Lisuan Tech)

According to the reports from EETimes China and Blocks &Files, Western Digital (WD) is said to be considering spinning off its NAND and SSD business, which could be valued similarly to Solidigm.

Reportedly, WD plans to split into two separate business units: one focused on producing hard disk drives (HDDs) and the other on NAND flash memory and SSDs. This strategy is expected to enhance operational efficiency within each unit, allowing them to concentrate on their core strengths and ultimately achieve greater market value.

According to the report, WD CEO David Goeckeler will lead the NAND and SSD unit, while Executive Vice President of Global Operations Irving Tan will take on the role of CEO for the HDD business

Citing calculations by an analyst, the report notes that  the standalone value of WD’s NAND and SSD business could range from USD 10 billion to 22 billion. This suggests that spinning off these businesses could lead to a higher market valuation for the company.

The report states that the market has not yet fully recognized the value of WD’s NAND business, and that the combined independent value of the two companies post-split will be at least USD 30 billion, with the potential to exceed USD 40 billion.

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• [News] WD and FADU to Co-Develop Enterprise SSD Technology
• [News] Kioxia and Western Digital Restart Merger Plan, SK Hynix Reportedly Remains Opposition

(Photo credit: Western Digital)

According to TrendForce’s latest memory spot price trend report, regarding DRAM spot prices, though the top three DRAM suppliers have not lowered their official prices, spot prices could weaken further because buyers are more passive than before. On the other hand, the ample supply of reball DDR4 chips have also depressed the momentum for DDR4’s price hike. As for NAND flash, spot traders are depleting in anticipation on a revitalization of demand for 3Q24 having perceived the sluggishness from the contract market. Details are as follows:

DRAM Spot Price:

Continuing from last week, there has been no noticeable demand rebound in the spot market. Although the top three DRAM suppliers have not lowered their official prices, spot prices could weaken further because spot buyers are more passive than before, and the demand situation for consumer electronics has yet to experience a turnaround. It is worth noting that spot prices of DDR4 products have been rising by a smaller margin compared with spot prices of DDR5 products since the start of this year. Consequently, some module houses are showing willingness to restock DDR4 products. However, there is still ample supply of reball DDR4 chips, so spot prices of DDR4 products reveal no indication of hikes. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) dropped by 0.35% from US$1.985 last week to US$1.978 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Price:

Spot traders are depleting in anticipation on a revitalization of demand for 3Q24 having perceived the sluggishness from the contract market. Wafer prices have dropped compared to last week, which reflect how traders are hoping to minimize their losses from inventory by attempting to finalize transactions as soon as possible amidst pessimism. Spot prices of 512Gb TLC wafers have dropped by 1.15% this week, arriving at US$3.234.