Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML has hinted at the potential for receiving significant orders from key customer TSMC in the coming quarters, according to a June 5th report from Reuters.

Reuters, citing information disclosed at a Jefferies-hosted investor call, noted that ASML’s CFO, Roger Dassen, expressed optimism about the progress of commercial discussions with TSMC, suggesting they are close to concluding. Reportedly, it is anticipated that ASML could receive significant orders for 2-nanometer related equipment as early as the second or third quarter. The report also mentioned that TSMC is expected to receive ASML’s latest High-NA EUV lithography equipment sometime this year.

According to the report, ASML predicts strong demand continuing until 2026, driven primarily by government-subsidized fabs being built around the world.

As per Reuters, each High-NA EUV machine costs over EUR 350 million, and ASML has already received dozens of orders from customers, including Intel, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron. Among these, Intel was the first to place an order and will be the first to receive the equipment.

Per a report from Bloomberg, TSMC had previously expressed concerns about the high pricing of ASML’s latest equipment. Kevin Zhang, Senior Vice President of Business Development at TSMC, stated during a technical symposium in Amsterdam on May 14th that the next-generation process “A16,” scheduled for release in the second half of 2026, may not necessarily require the use of High-NA EUV lithography equipment.

Dr. Kevin Zhang further remarked that while he appreciates the capabilities of High-NA EUV, he finds its price tag to be unlikeable.

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(Photo credit: ASML)

Amid tightening U.S. chip export controls to China, Shanghai-based AI chip companies, MetaX and Enflame, have rumored to downgrade chip designs to TSMC in late 2023 in order to comply with the U.S. export requirements, according to a report by Reuters on 5 June.

Regarding this rumor, TSMC declined to comment, Reuters stated.

In recent years, the U.S. has continuously introduced measures to limit China’s access to high-end chips, chip manufacturing equipment, and advanced processors.

MetaX and Enflame, which formerly claimed that their chips can rival NVIDIA’s GPUs, are recognized as “Little Giants,” a title given to startups with potential for development in key areas and valued by the Chinese government.

MetaX was founded in 2020 by former senior executives from AMD and has multiple R&D and wafer fab projects in China. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters disclosed that the company reportedly developed a downgraded product, C280, in order to be manufactured by TSMC, while its inventory of its most advanced GPU, C500, was sold out earlier.

Enflame, established in 2018, counts Chinese tech giant Tencent among its backers and raised $2.7 billion last year. The company sells its products to state-owned enterprises and collaborates on projects with various local governments, Reuters reported.

In October last year, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a new package of export control measures, and giving specific details on the chip specifications under restriction. For instance, any chip with a total processing performance of 4,800 or higher, or a performance density of 5.92 or more, is prohibited from being shipped to China.

For context, GPU giant NVIDIA’s A100 and the even more potent H100, were banned from export to China in late 2022. The less powerful A800 and H800 chips, tailored by NVIDIA for the Chinese market, were also subject to bans last October. According to a report by Asia Times, A800’s performance is approximately 70% of the A100’s.

(Photo credit: TSMC)

On June 5th, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang gave a congratulatory gift to TSMC’s new chairman C.C. Wei, emphasizing that TSMC’s stock price has been undervalued. He supports Wei’s value theory and will back TSMC in its wafer and CoWoS pricing.

As per a report from Commercial Times citing sources, it’s estimated that both parties will negotiate chip prices for next year, potentially boosting TSMC’s revenue and profit margins further.

Jensen Huang revealed that he is not particularly worried about geopolitical issues because Taiwan has a strong supply chain. To ensure annual advancements in computing power, NVIDIA is building complete systems and creating more value.

Huang further emphasized that TSMC is not just manufacturing wafers but also handling numerous supply chain issues. He agrees that the current pricing is too low and will support TSMC’s price increase actions.

Notably, according to a previous Commercial Times’ report, NVIDIA’s H200 and B100 are said to adopt TSMC’s 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer processes, respectively.

Industry sources cited by Commercial Times also noted that in NVIDIA’s most recent quarterly report, its gross margin reached 78.36%, significantly outperforming AMD’s 46.78% and even TSMC’s first-quarter margin of 53.07%, exceeding it by 25 percentage points. If TSMC raises prices for its advanced processes, NVIDIA’s gross margin will remain unaffected. However, this price increase will dilute the gross margins for other companies using TSMC’s advanced processes, including Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm. 

In response to long-term capacity planning, TSMC held a board meeting on June 5th and approved a capital budget of USD 17.356 billion to expand advanced process capacity, primarily to address long-term capacity planning and the burgeoning demand for AI.

Semiconductors are fundamental to driving AI, with advanced processes and packaging being crucial competitive factors. Last year, TSMC’s advanced packaging capacity was strained, with ODM and OEM companies waiting for supply. Although there has been some relief in the first quarter of this year, the market demand is still unmet.

TSMC has confirmed the strong demand, stating that even tripling the capacity from 5nm to 3nm processes is insufficient, necessitating further capacity expansion. Sources cited by Commercial Times estimate that by the end of this year, TSMC’s CoWoS monthly capacity could reach 45,000 to 50,000 wafers, while SoIC capacity could reach 5,000 to 6,000 wafers.

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(Photo credit: TSMC)

If you happen to be a technology enthusiast, June would certainly be a month to watch. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, joined by AMD CEO Lisa Su, visited Taiwan to announce their product roadmaps in COMPUTEX 2024. NVIDIA unveiled its new generation Rubin architecture, indicating that the R series products are expected to go into mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025.

On the other hand, AMD introduced its Ryzen AI 300 Series processors with the world’s most powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for next-gen AI PCs, featuring a new Zen 5 CPU, as well as its latest AI chips, MI325X and MI350.

Interestingly enough, on 4 June, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC, held its shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu, Taiwan. When asked about the company’s relationships with NVIDIA and AMD, President C.C. Wei has reaffirmed TSMC’s strong relationships with the two tech giants, saying that the company will prosper with its clients.

What will be the highlights for TSMC’s progress in advanced logic process, and what are some of the most advanced products introduced in COMPUTEX made with TSMC’s advanced nodes? Please proceed to find out more. For now, TSMC’s 3nm seems to be the most popular node.

N3 Family

TSMC’s N3E (the more cost-effective second generation of the 3nm process) entered mass production in the fourth quarter of 2023. On the other hand, N3P (a more advanced version) is scheduled to enter mass production in the second half of 2024. Its yield performance is close to that of N3E, while customer product designs have already been tape-out.

TSMC states that due to N3P’s superior performance, better power consumption and area (PPA) characteristics, most 3nm products will eventually adopt the node. In the future, the industry may expect to see more high-end products manufactured with 3nm.

Regarding capacity, driven by the strong demand from HPC and mobile phone, TSMC has tripled its 3nm capacity in 2024 compared to that of 2023. However, as it is still not enough, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry has been striving to meet customer demand.

Intel’s Lunar Lake/ Arrow Lake

At COMPUTEX 2024, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger introduced Lunar Lake, its latest AI PC chip, and thank its friend “TSMC” for their full support.

Starting Q3 2024 in time for the holiday season, Lunar Lake will power more than 80 new laptop designs across more than 20 original equipment manufacturers.

In a previous report by Wccftech, Gelsinger stated that Intel has collaborated with TSMC to power up its next-gen CPUs, adopting N3B, the first-generation 3nm process, for Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake.

NVIDIA’s Rubin

On the other hand, NVIDIA’s Rubin GPU architecture is now official: the Rubin GPU will feature 8 HBM4, while the Rubin Ultra GPU will come with 12 HBM4 chips, noted by Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA.

Per a report from Wccftech, NVIDIA’s Rubin GPU is expected to utilize TSMC’s CoWoS-L packaging technology, along with its N3 process. Moreover, NVIDIA will use next-generation HBM4 DRAM to power its Rubin GPU.

Regarding NVIDIA’s previous GPUs, according to Commercial Times’ report, H200 and B100 reportedly are said to adopt TSMC’s 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer processes, respectively.

AMD’s MI 325X/ MI350

On 3 June, AMD CEO Lisa Su stated that the company’s relationship with TSMC is “very strong,” even as rumors have been circulating about a potential partnership with Samsung, TSMC’s main competitor.

AMD unveiled the company’s latest AI chip, MI325X, at the opening of COMPUTEX Taipei. Su emphasized that the MI325X boasts 30% faster computing speed compared to NVIDIA’s H200.

Furthermore, she also announced that AMD will release MI350 in 2025, which will be manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm process, while MI400 is expected to follow, launched in 2026.

When asked if AMD intended to procure chips manufactured using Samsung’s 3-nanometer (3nm) gate-all-around (GAA) process, Su reiterated AMD’s commitment to utilizing “the most advanced technology,” saying that AMD is certainly going to use 3 nm, 2 nm, and beyond. She also confirmed that there are several 3nm products currently being developed in collaboration with TSMC.

In addition to TSMC’s collaboration with clients on 3nm, this article also curates TSMC’s progresses on its 2nm node and other advanced processes. More information below:

N2 Family

The N2 process utilizes nanosheet transistors, thus would be able to offer superior energy efficiency. Currently, TSMC’s 2nm technology is progressing smoothly, with nanosheet conversion performance reaching the target of 90%, indicating that the yield exceeds 80%. Mass production is expected in 2025.

In the future, TSMC states that more members of the N2 family will emerge, including applications like N2P and N2X.

Read more

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(Photo credit: TSMC)

Qualcomm President & CEO Cristiano Amon, at COMPUTEX 2024, showcased devices powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, claiming them to be the only PCs capable of delivering Copilot+ PC experiences. Afterwards, during a media briefing, he disclosed Qualcomm’s plans on a dual-sourcing production strategy, indicating that the cooperation with Samsung has been considered, Korean media outlet Business Korea reported.

According to a previous report by Wccftech, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, targeting to be launched in October, is rumored to utilize TSMC’s N3E node. However, the possibility of diversifying the production sources for Qualcomm’s “Snapdragon 8 Gen 5” smartphone chip has recently become a hot topic.

Regarding Qualcomm’s potential dual-sourcing policy, Amon emphasized that the primary focus should be on TSMC’s foundry production. However, he expressed willingness to collaborate with both TSMC and Samsung Electronics, according to Business Korea.

Initially, Samsung’s foundry was tasked with producing the first-generation Snapdragon 8 chip. However, it is rumored that overheating issues prompted Qualcomm to assign the following generations to be manufactured by TSMC.

Nonetheless, according to Business Korea, the recent launch of the Snapdragon X Elite, extensively integrated with Microsoft’s CoPilot+ PC, has sparked greater demand, which has prompted Qualcomm to reassess its collaboration with Samsung.

According to a previous report by Wccftech, it is likely that the Samsung’s 2nm technology will be utilized for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in the Galaxy S26 series.

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• [News] Samsung Fails to Secure Qualcomm’s 3nm Orders for the Coming Year, Dual Foundry Strategy Postponed

(Photo credit: Qualcomm)