The Tech week that was.. Jan 15~19

Welcome to the latest edition of my weekly newsletter bringing you all the key semiconductor and technology news from around the world in one easy read. 

In industry news..

TSMC said at it’s investor conference that it expects to revenue to grow up to 25% this year driven by strong demand for advanced chips for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.  Some of the key points :

·      For the full year of 2024, expect revenue to increase by low-to-mid 20% in US$ terms

·      Expect overall semiconductor market to increase 10%, whilst expecting the foundry market to grow approx +20% in 2024

·      Expects 3nm chips to account for 15% of its total revenue this year, up from 6% last year.

·      Seriously evaluating building a 2nd Fab in Kumamoto, Japan, after its 1st Fab there starts operations in Q4 this year.  Opening ceremony for the 1st Fab will in February.

·      Operations of its 1st Fab in Arizona, USA is on track to start in 1st half 2025 and the second fab in 2027 at the earliest.

·      Construction of it’s Fab in Germany is scheduled to start in Q4 this year.

·      Plan to build multiple fabs for 2nm technologies in both Hsinchu and Kaohsiung science parks, Taiwan, whilst expanding 3nm capacity in Tainan, Taiwan.

·      TSMC capex budget for 2024 will be US$30billion at it’s midpoint.

·      Q1 revenue is expect be down -6% sequentially to a mid-point of US$18.4billion due to seasonal weakness

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the semiconductor industry cluster being built outside Seoul in  is expected to create at least 3 million jobs over the next 20 years in jobs related to the semiconductor ecosystem.  Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are building the world’s largest and best semiconductor mega cluster with a total investment of US$466billion over the next 20years.  The government vowed to extend tax credits for investments in the semiconductor industry, which were due to expire this year, and support the investment building infrastructure.

Chip design software maker Synopsys announced it intends to acquire Ansys in a $35 billion cash-and-stock deal this week.  Ansys makes simulation software used by engineers, designers and researchers across industries like aerospace, defense, automotive and energy to help analyze products. The transaction would be the biggest acquisition in the technology sector since chipmaker Broadcom  took over software maker VMware last November in a $69 billion deal.

Taiwan's Foxconn announced it will partner with tech firm HCL Group to build a new semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) facility in southern India. Foxconn will own a 40% stake in the joint venture with a US$37 million investment. HCL did not disclose financial details from its side.

Amkor and Globalfoundries held an opening ceremony this week for their strategic partnership at Amkor’s Porto, Portugal, facility.  Under the partnership, GF has transferred its 300 mm bump and sort lines from its Dresden site to Amkor’s Porto, Portugal, operations. GF will maintain ownership of the transferred tools, processes and IP at the Porto factory. Currently the first customers are being qualified on the transferred tools. The partnership will also include future collaboration for upcoming efforts in Portugal. 

In market analysis news..

Apple has overtaken Samsung as the worlds top smartphone seller in 2023 with a record high 20% market share selling 235million units driven by sales of iPhone15 according to the latest data from IDC.  Samsung sold 227million units with 19.4% market share.   Overall the market dropped -3.2% to 1.17billion units shipped, though growth was seen in the 2nd half of the year and they expect recovery in 2024.

China’s IC production increased to 351billion units in 2023, up 7% YoY, according to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).  The NBS data counted a variety of chips to reach the total IC number, including logic, memory, analogue and special chips, plus sensors and chip modules.  China imported 479.5 billion IC units worth US$349.4 billion, down 10.8% by volume and 15% in value from 2022.

Worldwide semiconductor revenue decreased -11% YoY in 2023 with revenue of $533 billion according the latest results from Gartner.  Memory segment revenue recorded one of the largest declines in history declining -37%.  Revenue of the top 25 semiconductor companies declined -14%, with only 9 of the top 25 companies recording revenue growth in 2023.  Intel reclaimed top position from Samsung, with revenue of US$48.7billion compared to Samsungs revenue of US$39.9billion. Nvidia's revenue grew 56% YoY to move up to 5th position, the company's first time in the top 5.  Broadcom and STMicroelectronics were the only other 2 companies in the top 10 that reported positive growth in 2023, growing 7.2 & 7.7% respectively.  Broadcom moved up 2 placed to 4th, and STM up 3 places to 8th.

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Stay safe and healthy... bye