The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday (July 28) to approve subsidies designed to kickstart U.S. chip manufacturing. Twenty-four Republicans voted in favor of the measure, which provides $52 billion in industry incentives for chip manufacturing and research.
Read More »House Approves CHIPS Act
By Bolaji Ojo
Renesas Electronics Corp. entered the second half of 2022 significantly stronger than it began the year, but the automotive semiconductor giant is proceeding cautiously with future production and inventory plans and will be closely watching order patterns due to what executives see as substantial mismatches in orders and consumption patterns.
Read More »Renesas Grows but ‘Unbelievable’ Orders Trigger Concerns
Senate passage of semiconductor manufacturing subsidies as part of broader technology innovation legislation finesses fundamental differences on how to revive technology supply chains—the impetus behind the evolving CHIPS Act.
Read More »Senate Passes CHIPS Act, Final House Vote Looms
By David Benjamin
“Some Washington politicians support policies that will cause America’s most innovative companies to fall behind. These overreaching bills will strengthen our adversaries at a time when…” —American Edge TV ad
Read More »The Innovation Smokescreen
What’s at stake?
The automotive industry is scrambling to secure wafers for chips to plug into their vehicles. Volkswagen, hoping to game the system, has partnered with ST and TSMC. The automaker’s turn toward collegiality, however, must be backstopped by real commitments. And although the policy of one chip designer, one product, one foundry sounds clean and efficient, it could trigger unintended consequences.
Intel Foundry Services gets a significant boost by signing MediaTek as a foundry customer.
What’s at stake?
Ousting Herbert Diess might win a popularity contest inside the Volkswagen Group, but it hardly fixes the German carmaker’s structural problems. Stakes are high for new CEO Oliver Blume, who must simultaneously restore VW’s software excellence, battle a conservative corporate culture, and reverse significant sales losses in China.
By Gary Hilson
What’s at stake?
Optane is the only phase-change memory currently available, giving Intel another first-mover advantage. Whether Optane is able to challenge traditional DRAM and NAND technologies in data center and other enterprise applications remains to be seen.
If the tortured debate over funding a revival of American semiconductor manufacturing is any indication, then the United States is far from forging a badly needed technology innovation strategy.
Read More »First, Semiconductors. Then, an Innovation Road Map
By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake?
TSMC is in peak performance mode fueled by advanced technologies, a strong cash position and deep, long-term relationships. Its results do not reflect how the rest of the industry will fare as competitors work to catch up.
