Daily: Fully Chinese CPU; TSMC repurpose GaN for packaging; Correction for Intel 18A
4 min read.
Highlights
Fully Chinese CPU. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a national research institute, developed a fully domestic CPU. The Loongson 3C6000 is built on domestic instruction set architecture, LoongArch, which is a major breakthrough from the effective duopoly of Intel and Arm architectures.
TSMC repurpose GaN for packaging. TSMC is reportedly shifting away its GaN wafer foundry by mid 2027, which is based in Taiwan. It will repurpose that fab into an advanced packaging facility. Analysts indicate that the decision was driven by competition from Chinese companies. GaN wafers are used mostly for power, telecom, and auto chips.
Correction for Intel 18A. I wrote yesterday that Intel was reportedly looking into shift away from its 18A advanced node production and noted that the U.S. could be losing domestic advanced chipmaking capabilities. I misread the Reuters report, as though Intel may be moving away from 18A, the article said they would be shifting their focus onto the even finer 14A node, in an attempt to better compete with TSMC and Samsung. That’ll be a big investment, a big bet, and investors are not enthused about it, with Intel stock dropping ~4%. Meanwhile, TSMC and Samsung could enjoy less competition for the 2nm node. Thank you to the reader who pointed it out. Please feel free to email me (reply to any email), if you have any corrections or suggestions.
Thanks for reading.
1. Policy and Geopolitics
1.1
TrendForce (07/03): China Unveiled a New-Gen CPU, Without Dependence on Foreign Licensed Technologies
On June 26, China officially launched its independently developed next-generation general-purpose processor — the Loongson 3C6000 (LS3C600) — in Beijing.
The LS3C600 is built on China’s self-designed instruction set architecture, LoongArch, and requires no foreign licensed technologies. As a domestically developed and fully controllable processor, it is capable of meeting computing demands across a wide range of scenarios, including general-purpose computing, AI computing, storage, industrial control, and workstations. The LS3C6000 series has already received Level 2 Certification, the highest current level in China’s “Secure and Reliable Evaluation Bulletin,” ensuring its suitability for critical applications.
Hu Weiwu, researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and chief designer of Loongson, noted that the LS3C6000 delivers performance comparable to mainstream products in the 2023 or 2024 market. He emphasized that it is a completely homegrown CPU, developed without any foreign technology authorization or dependency on overseas supply chains — from the instruction set to all IP cores, everything was developed in-house.
1.2
Reuters (07/03): AOS settles with US over unauthorized shipments to China's Huawei
Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOS) has agreed to pay $4.25 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Commerce for shipping items to China's Huawei Technologies in violation of export regulations, according to a department order posted on Wednesday.
AOS engaged in prohibited conduct by forwarding 1,650 power controllers, smart power stages and related accessories to Huawei without authorization in 2019, the year Huawei was added to a restricted U.S. trade list, the order said.
Though the items were foreign-designed and produced, the order said, they were subject to export control regulations because AOS exported them from the United States. Suppliers to companies on the restricted trade list, known as the Entity List, are required to obtain licenses.
1.3
Nikkei (07/03): Ex-Intel CEO says US manufacturing needs long-term 'patient capital'
Reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector will require patient long-term investment, said former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who focused on long-term planning as head of the American chip giant and is now supporting startups after a pivot into venture capital.
2. Economy, Finance, and Business
2.1
FT (07/03): OpenAI signs $30bn data centre deal with Oracle
OpenAI has agreed to lease 4.5 gigawatts of computing power from Oracle in a deal worth around $30bn a year that is one of the largest cloud agreements to date for artificial intelligence.
The deal marks a big expansion of OpenAI’s “Stargate” data centre project, which it launched with SoftBank in January to gain access to vast amounts of computing power to develop its powerful AI models and meet consumer demand for products such as ChatGPT.
Oracle will develop multiple data centres across the US in order to satisfy the new Stargate contract, according to people close to the plans, which were first reported by Bloomberg. The roughly 4.5GW would be equivalent to about a quarter of the US’s current operational data centre capacity.
3. Technology
3.1
The Information (07/03): Microsoft Scales Back Ambitions for AI Chips to Overcome Delays
Microsoft is revising its roadmap for its internally developed artificial intelligence server chips and will focus on releasing less ambitious designs through 2028, hoping to overcome problems that have caused delays in development, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
Microsoft hopes that by scaling back some of the designs and pushing out the schedule for other AI chips it is already working on, it can develop them more easily.
3.2
TrendForce (07/03): TSMC to Exit GaN Production by July 2027, Reportedly Repurposes Fab for Advanced Packaging
As TSMC doubles down on advanced node development to ride the AI wave, it’s steadily pulling back from legacy businesses. According to the Commercial Times, citing a press release from Navitas Semiconductor, TSMC will wind down its Gallium Nitride (GaN) wafer foundry services by July 31, 2027.
Notably, ijiwei suggests that that TSMC plans to repurpose its Hsinchu Fab 5, currently used for GaN, for advanced packaging starting July 1. By reusing existing cleanroom facilities, TSMC can accelerate expansion with minimal effort—a timely move as demand surges for CoWoS, Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW), and Wafer-Level System Integration (WLSI) technologies, the report adds.
Meanwhile, industry analysts cited by Commercial Times point to rising price pressure from Chinese rivals as a key driver behind TSMC’s decision. Rather than engage in a price war, TSMC opted for a strategic exit, given the limited scale and low profitability of GaN production.
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