Liberation Day, OpenAI's AI Infrastructure Crush, Blacklists, Apple's $1 Billion Order, Softbank is a Hunter 🏹

Nvidia's GTC was kind of meh.

Today well met, we’re just going to jump right in (we have a lot to cover):

The stakes are high: 🚀

"For the next few years America is likely to win the race in AI. Then it will be a function of who controls the AI chip fabrication. If more of the factories are owned by China then China will win. Right now all the chip fabs are in Taiwan. 100%. If China invades Taiwan in the near term the world will be cut off from advanced AI chips. I think it's essential for national security that we begin manufacturing our own chips in the US." - Elon Musk

🌍 Semiconductor Bits & Bites 📱

(March 6th to March 27th, 2025)

• What to expect in 2025? Global Fab equipment spending is expected to hit US$110 billion, up 2% year-on-year and the 6th straight year of growth. In 2026, fab spending is seen up 18% to $130 billion, driven by demand for high performance computing (HPC), memory chips, and AI silicon for edge devices.

• China to remain Top Buyer in 2025: 1. China $38 billion, down 24% from $50B in 2024 2. South Korea $21.5B 3. Taiwan $21B 4. Americas $14B 5. Japan $14B 6. EMEA $9B 7. Southeast Asia $4B.

• The good fight: Qualcomm has taken its fight against ARM global, arguing its biggest supplier is guilty of anticompetitive behavior for restricting access to its technology after operating an open network for over 20 years in complaints to the European Commission, US Federal Trade Commission and Korea Fair Trade Commission, Bloomberg reports.

• ⚖️ Tariffs for Liberation Day: US President Trump put semiconductors, autos, lumber and pharmaceuticals back on the list of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and could be announced Wednesday, media report. He pledged hefty tariffs on some trading partners, while others may be given a break. “They’ve charged us so much that I’m embarrassed to charge them what they’ve charged us, but it’ll be substantial,” he reportedly said.

OpenAI Discusses Building Its First Data Center for Storage

About to disclose a $40 billion funding round, OpenAI has been in discussions about constructing its first dedicated data center for storage. This potential move is part of a strategic shift towards increasing its own data storage capabilities, away from reliance on external cloud providers, according to reporting by The Information.