Daily: Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic support chip export control bill
7.5 min read.
Highlights
Tech support for GAIN AI Act. Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic all support the GAIN AI Act, which is a bill currently sitting in Congress that would require AI chips to fulfil US demand before sale elsewhere. It is ostensibly an export control strategy to limit AI chip sales to China. Nvidia has been lobbying hard against it as it hopes to someday resume sales to the world’s second largest economy. The bill is wrapped in a common-sensical nationalist tone that makes it hard to argue against.
Baidu releases in-house chips. As China pushes for semiconductor self-sufficiency, Baidu released two new AI chips: the M100 for inference and M300 for both training and inference. The Chinese tech giant also released two networking products. This comes as Alibaba, Huawei, Cambricon and other domestic tech/chip companies release their own chips. The US chip sanctions and China’s reluctance to buy US chips is certainly constraining China’s AI development, with Tencent reporting chip shortages.
Memory supercycle. The memory supercycle is chugging along, with the latest HBM4 chip scheduled for mass production in 2026 and HBM4E in 2027. As the AI memory chips get more advanced, the chips are expected to move from standardised to customised, tailored to customer needs, particularly around the HBM logic base die.
Elsewhere, a new German memory startup, called FMC, hopes to design new energy-efficient memory chips and are working with “two major DRAM manufacturers.” One of those is likely SK Hynix as the Korean company is also one of the startup’s financial backers. FMC fundraised 100 million euros (US$116 million) but does not have a product or in-house fab yet.
Stock of Kioxia, a major Japanese NAND maker, fell 23% off missed earnings, though the stock is still up ~500% this year.
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1. Policy and Geopolitics
1.1
WSJ (11/14): Amazon and Microsoft Back Effort That Would Restrict Nvidia’s Exports to China
Amazon.com is joining Microsoft in supporting legislation that threatens to further limit Nvidia’s ability to export to China, a rare split between the chip designer and two of its biggest customers.
The moves by Microsoft and Amazon to work against a company they are deeply intertwined with highlights the fierce nature of the artificial-intelligence race. The companies are all jockeying for favorable policy to stay ahead of competitors. Nvidia is fighting for access to the lucrative Chinese market despite security concerns.
The legislation would require chip firms to satisfy U.S. demand before sending products to China and other countries subject to arms embargoes. It is one of the first efforts by Congress to address chip exports, which are vital for the data centers that train AI models.
Anthropic, a top AI model developer that generally supports export restrictions and uses chips from Nvidia, Amazon and Google, is also supporting the policy, the people said.
1.2
WSJ (11/13): Baidu Unveils New AI Chips as China Accelerates Tech Self-Sufficiency Efforts
Baidu unveiled two artificial intelligence chips as Chinese tech giants ramp up their chip-making efforts amid China’s push for technological self-sufficiency.
The Beijing-based company announced plans to launch the M100 chip in 2026, the company said at an annual developer event on Thursday.
The M100, designed by its chip unit Kunlunxin, is mainly used for large-scale inferencing. Additionally, Baidu is set to release the M300 chip, designed to focus on ultra-large scale model training and inference, in 2027.
In addition to its new chips, Baidu introduced two supernode products designed to link chips together, functioning as a unified system to enhance computing power.
The company expects its Tianchi256 supernode to deliver a 50% better performance in serving AI systems compared to its previous clusters. The next-generation Tianchi512 is expected to offer even further development in performance.
1.3
Reuters (11/14): Nexperia customers in talks over workaround to skirt Europe-China chip feud, sources say
Customers of Chinese-owned Dutch chipmaker Nexperia are working with the company on a workaround to bypass a feud between the Europe-based unit and its packaging plant in China, two sources close to the firm told Reuters.
The workaround, previously unreported, is not a permanent solution, nor feasible for smaller clients, but offers a patch that could relieve some pressure on the auto market, where a scarcity of Nexperia chips has dented some production of cars and parts.
Now some clients are working with Nexperia Europe to purchase silicon wafers directly from its factory in Hamburg, separately transport them to China, and there contract the Dongguan plant for the final packaging, sources said.
2. Economy, Finance, and Business
2.1
Reuters (11/13): China’s Tencent says chip shortage curbs cloud growth despite strong Q3 results
Tencent on Thursday said chip shortages were constraining the growth of its cloud business as China’s largest social media and gaming company prioritizes internal AI chip use over renting computing power to external clients.
The remarks, which came after Tencent posted strong third-quarter earnings, underscore how escalating U.S.-China technology tensions and export restrictions on advanced AI chips from suppliers such as Nvidia are hampering Chinese companies’ expansion plans.
2.2
Reuters (11/13): SMIC reports 29% increase in third-quarter profit
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday a 28.9% year-on-year increase in third-quarter profit.
Profit attributable to owners of SMIC reached $191.75 million in the September quarter, ahead of analysts’ estimates of $178.88 million, according to LSEG data.
2.3
Bloomberg (11/14): Japanese Chip Sector’s Earnings Show AI Appetite, Auto Slump
Artificial intelligence fueled a stronger-than-expected earnings season for Japan’s tech sector, with surging data-center demand prompting chipmakers and equipment suppliers to raise forecasts.
With most companies in the MSCI Japan Information Technology Index having reported, more than three-quarters beat analyst estimates, among the highest in the broader MSCI Japan Index. Profit across the index rose 35%, with Advantest Corp. among the biggest contributors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While the wave of upbeat guidance from leading suppliers and renewed government support are fueling momentum in Japan’s chip revival, the earnings season also highlighted a widening divide in the global chip industry: AI-driven demand continues to propel profits, though suppliers to the automotive industry continue to struggle.
2.4
Bloomberg (11/14): Kioxia Shares Dive Their Most Ever After AI Outlook Disappoints
Kioxia Holdings Corp. shares fell 23% after the NAND memory maker’s current-quarter outlook missed lofty expectations at a time investors globally are exiting highly valued tech stocks.
The Japanese supplier to Apple Inc. on Thursday said it expects to earn nine-month operating income of between ¥229.82 billion and ¥269.82 billion ($1.5 billion to $1.7 billion), setting it on course to likely miss the average of analyst estimates for ¥420 billion for the full year. The company, which is recovering from an extended trough in demand for NAND, reported an 11% rise in operating income in the September quarter — its first rise in three quarters.
Kioxia’s shares dived by their daily limit during Friday morning trading in Tokyo in their biggest decline since their December debut. The stock is still up more than 500% this year.
2.5
Bloomberg (11/14): Applied Materials Sales Decline, With Rebound Predicted for 2026
Applied Materials Inc. suffered a sales decline last quarter and predicted another drop in the current period, though the chip-equipment maker sees demand improving in the second half of 2026.
Sales will be approximately $6.85 billion in fiscal first quarter, which runs through January, the company said in a statement Thursday. Though that was slightly higher than the $6.81 billion average estimate, it would represent a decline of more than 4% from the year-earlier period.
3. Technology
3.1
Bloomberg (11/13): Memory Chip Startup Raises €100 Million for Energy-Saving Tech
German startup Ferroelectric Memory GmbH has raised €100 million ($116 million) in investor financing and subsidies to commercialize energy-saving memory chips.
Venture capital funds HV Capital and DeepTech & Climate Fonds led a €77 million equity round, FMC said in a statement on Thursday. The Dresden-based startup was granted an additional €23 million in subsidies to build prototypes and get them market-ready.
FMC hopes to set a “a new industry standard” through better energy efficiency, something that it says could be critical for an anticipated jump in demand from AI data centers. Rückes said FMC’s breakthrough could boost the energy efficiency for training a large-language models by a “double digit” percentage, he added.
The startup is working with two major DRAM manufacturers and an advanced logic foundry in Asia, Rückes said, declining to share names.
3.2
TrendForce (11/14): HBM4E Seen Hitting 40% of 2027 Market; Samsung, SK hynix Reportedly Aim for 1H26 Completion
As HBM4 heads toward mass production in 2026, industry players are beginning to look ahead to HBM4E as the next stage of development. According to Chosun Biz, citing industry sources, with HBM4E the market is expected to move beyond standardized, mass-produced products toward more customized solutions in which core components are tailored to individual customer needs. The report notes that this transition could become an important element in how leading memory makers compete.
As highlighted in the report, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are targeting completion of HBM4E development as early as the first half of 2026. With AI accelerators featuring HBM4E planned for launch in 2027, development timelines are being accelerated so that quality verification can be completed in the second half of 2026.
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