Nvidia Projections, Earnings TSMC Beat, ASML Down, Grants to Micron, Rivos Series A, and more.

Semiconductor boom appears to be sustainable.

Hello Everyone,

This is an issue for the week of April 18th, 2024.

This is one of my “new” Newsletters, and over 10+ now covering various aspects of emerging tech. Thanks for the support, I hope to learn along with you about these topics.

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• Welcome to the 8th edition of Semiconductor Things™, where I seek to break down some of the news in the Semiconductor, AI chips and datacenter space globally to make it more accessible and easy to follow.

• With the rise of Generative AI, Nvidia and TSMC and the geopolitical importance of Taiwan, this is now a major topic of me in my watching of the emerging tech space that I do as an analyst, writer, curators and news watcher.

• The Technology category is an underdog relative to Substack’s baseline audience, this means I’m an outlier here. To survive, I’m building 10+ Newsletters in “emerging tech” coverage. A pilot never seen before on Substack for a one-person team. Full disclosure, I may not make it.

• Importe note: I am not native to the Semi space, and it might take a while to get up to speed. So we’ll be effectively learning about these things together.

Analyzing and Curating News 🔔

I’m a news fanatic always analyzing the latest in exponential and emerging tech like robotics, semiconductors & AI chips, quantum, synthetic biology and other fields - as well as BigTech in AI.

When to Expect this Newsletter ⏰

This Newsletter will typically go out on Thursday at 7am Eastern Time. Posts are partially paywalled and paid subscriptions are cheap.

What? It will attempt to summarize some of the most important news in the semiconductor industry of the last week.

Semiconductor Bits & Bites 📱

I call Dan the Chip whisperer, crazy what you can notice when you are based out of Taiwan.

• Earnings Time: TSMC’s net profit rose 8.9% year-on-year to NT$225.5 billion (US$7.17 billion) in the 1st quarter Beat consensus' NT$217.2 billion (US$6.71 billion) Revenue fell 3.8% to US$18.87 billion, but beat guidance.

• Water and ESG Concerns: TSMC said it is already reducing water use and boosting recycling efforts as drought conditions worsen in Taiwan, but the chip giant does not expect any meaningful impact on operations, media report.

• ASML’s stock is down: ASML stock fell 7.1% in US trading, dragging the SOX semiconductor index down 3.3% after the world’s biggest chip equipment maker reported 1st quarter orders of €3.6 billion (US$3.8 billion), well below €5.4 billion expected and the 2nd lowest since 2020, media report, noting orders can be lumpy, as the prior quarter, Q4, saw a record high €9.2 billion in orders.

ASML Heavily Dependent on China Sales

ASML Holding NV’s sales to China were resilient in the first quarter despite curbs on exports of high-end chipmaking equipment to China this year. Its main customers include TSMC, Samsung and Intel, the world’s top processor foundries, which, in turn, make chips for AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Apple.

ASML, Europe’s most valuable technology company, has been caught in the crosshairs of the US government’s effort to stymie China’s progress in the chip industry. The Biden administration pushed the Dutch government to introduce restrictions on exports of ASML’s immersion DUV lithography machines, its second-most capable category of machinery, to China from Jan. 1.  Read More from BNN Bloomberg.

ASML sets density record with latest chipmaking tools — High-NA EUV equipment prints first patterns

ASML has announced that its first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool with projection optics featuring a 0.55 numerical aperture (High-NA) has printed its first patterns. The announcement is a major milestone for both ASML and for High-NA EUV lithography technology in general. 

"Our High-NA EUV system in Veldhoven printed the first-ever 10 nanometer dense lines," a statement by ASML reads. "Imaging was done after optics, sensors and stages completed coarse calibration. Next up: bringing the system to full performance. And achieving the same results in the field." Read More.

Semiconductor Bits & Bites 📱 Continued

• Micro Update: Micron Technology will receive US$6.1 billion in grants from the US for semiconductor fabs and other facilities it is building in New York and Idaho, media report, noting the funding will be announced next week. It will also get loans. MU 0.00%↑

• Mobileye, the automotive chip developer, has won orders for 46 million EyeQ6 Lite assisted-driving chips so far, as automakers race to make cars safer and easier to drive, Reuters reports, adding the shipments will extend over the next few years. MBLY 0.00%↑

• AMD AI computer chips: AMD launched the new Ryzen PRO 8000 Series desktop processor, made using TSMC’s 4nm production process, its first AI enabled desktop microprocessor for business users, AMD said, noting the chips combine CPU, GPU and a dedicated NPU (neural processing unit) for more AI processing power. AMD also launched Ryzen PRO 8040 processors for AI laptops, with WiFi-7, also made on TSMC 4nm, with systems available from HP, Lenovo, others in the 2nd quarter, 2024. Read More. AMD 0.00%↑

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