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TSMC rumored to acquire 20% stake in Intel fabs with Qualcomm and Broadcom chipping in

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 16, 2025 8:20 PM CST

TSMC is rumored to be working on acquiring a 20% stake in Intel's wafer foundry services division (IFS) with US giants Qualcomm and Broadcom also investing in the deal to help Intel "get out of the trough".

TSMC rumored to acquire 20% stake in Intel fabs with Qualcomm and Broadcom chipping in

In a new report from UDN, we're hearing that the supply chain and foreign media are reporting that the main goal of the Trump administration is to increase Intel's wafer manufacturing capacity through TSMC in order to strengthen "Made in America" from President Trump. The US hopes to see TSMC holding a 20% stake in IFS (Intel Foundry Services) through a technology valuation or an actual cash investment.

Qualcomm and Broadcom would be paying for production capacity from Intel's semiconductor fabs, ensuring smooth production of their high-end chips and Made in the USA, also increasing IFS's capacity utilization. UDN continues, reporting that the companies also plan on taking advantage of President Trump's semiconductor tariffs, leveraging the advantages of American companies as landlords and local manufacturing on US soil.

Continue reading: TSMC rumored to acquire 20% stake in Intel fabs with Qualcomm and Broadcom chipping in (full post)

TSMC CEO ruled out acquiring Intel's semiconductor fabs back in October 2024

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 15, 2025 7:54 PM CST

TSMC chairman and CEO Dr. C.C. Wei ruled out acquiring Intel's semiconductor facilities in the US, revealed during the company's Q3 2024 earnings call, and when asked again in January 2025, he refused to comment.

TSMC CEO ruled out acquiring Intel's semiconductor fabs back in October 2024

Fast-forward a couple of months and President Trump is back in the White House, and swirling reports of President Trump not supporting US chip factories being owned by foreign entities (like TSMC) and that it is "unlikely" the Trump administration would support a foreign company operating Intel's facilities.

US Vice President JD Vance attended the recent AI Action Summit in Paris where he said that the Trump administration "will ensure that the most powerful AI systems are built in the US with American design and manufactured chips".

Continue reading: TSMC CEO ruled out acquiring Intel's semiconductor fabs back in October 2024 (full post)

TSMC to begin construction on 3rd fab in Arizona in mid-2025, entire year earlier than planned

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 15, 2025 6:06 PM CST

TSMC is reportedly planning the construction of a 3rd fab in Arizona by mid-2025, an entire year earlier than planned, and will invite top US officials to a ground-breaking ceremony as early as June 2025.

TSMC to begin construction on 3rd fab in Arizona in mid-2025, entire year earlier than planned

TSMC is also considering a new CoWoS advanced packaging plant for the US, with TSMC CEO C.C. Wei discussing these decisions with Arizona semiconductor fab executives after its board meeting on Wednesday on US soil: the first time TSMC has hosted a board meeting in the US in its 37-year history.

Construction of TSMC's second fab in Arizona is well underway, with the main fab building completed and clean room installations are now on their way. Equipment move-in is penciled in for the end of Q1 2026, which means we can expect risk production by the end of 2026.

Continue reading: TSMC to begin construction on 3rd fab in Arizona in mid-2025, entire year earlier than planned (full post)

President Trump might not support Intel's US chip factories being operated by foreign entities

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 15, 2025 4:04 PM CST

President Trump might not support US chip factories owned by Intel being operated by foreign entities like TSMC, according to White House officials.

President Trump might not support Intel's US chip factories being operated by foreign entities

The new comments were a response to a Bloomberg report that TSMC would take a controlling stake in Intel's factories at the request of President Trump, with White House officials telling Reuters that the Trump administration supports foreign companies investing and building in the US, but it is "unlikely" to support a foreign company from operating Intel's factories.

Intel has been struggling for years, but there are multiple layers to this situation which analyst Patrick Moorhead beautifully breaks down in a post on X. He said that "having just manufacturing on US soil solves nothing for national security; the IP needs to be on US soil, too. If China attacks Taiwan, they have everything, and Arizona has nothing, and never gets beyond current node".

Continue reading: President Trump might not support Intel's US chip factories being operated by foreign entities (full post)

Ubisoft is optimistic for Assassin's Creed: Shadows despite confirming more layoffs

Jak Connor | Feb 15, 2025 9:45 AM CST

Ubisoft has released its financial report for the nine months ending December 31, 2024, and it shows a steady decline across the board for the once esteemed company.

Ubisoft is optimistic for Assassin's Creed: Shadows despite confirming more layoffs

Ubisoft was a company once known for its big AAA hits, but it has unfortunately slowly fallen from grace, and the company's recent financial results, along with its stock price, directly reflect that. For the nine months ending December 31, 2024, Ubisoft's revenue was €990 million ($1.07 billion USD), which was down 31.4% year-on-year. Net bookings for the company over that period were down 34.8% and accounted for €944 million ($1.02 billion USD), along with digital net bookings being down 33.8%, or €784 million ($850 million USD). Lastly, back-catalogue net bookings were down 27.7% at €762.3 million ($827 million USD).

Despite these significant declines, GamesIndustry.biz reports Ubisoft remains optimistic about its performance for the next quarter, as it will have released Assassin's Creed: Shadows on March 20, and according to Ubisoft CFO Frederick Duguet, pre-sales for the title are "tracking solidly" and are in-line with Assassin's Creed Odyssey - one of Ubisoft's most successful releases ranking second in terms of revenue behind Valhalla, which was the first Assassin's Creed game to pull in $1 billion in revenue.

Continue reading: Ubisoft is optimistic for Assassin's Creed: Shadows despite confirming more layoffs (full post)

President Trump says Taiwan 'took our chip business away, and we want that business back'

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 14, 2025 6:06 PM CST

President Trump is putting pressure on TSMC after saying he would have semiconductor tariffs, accusing TSMC of stealing the United States' chip business.

President Trump says Taiwan 'took our chip business away, and we want that business back'

President Trump told reporters at The White House: "Right now, everything is made in Taiwan practically. Almost all of it, a little bit in South Korea. But everything, almost all of it is made in Taiwan. Taiwan took our chip business away. We had Intel, we had these great companies that did so well. It was taken from us. And we want that business back. We want it back in the United States. If they don't bring it back, we're not going to be very happy".

A TSMC spokesperson said: "We don't break down [capital expenditures] by market but some will apply to Arizona, where the second of three planned fabs is currently under construction".

Continue reading: President Trump says Taiwan 'took our chip business away, and we want that business back' (full post)

US government gives TSMC multiple alternatives for future in USA, tech transfer with Intel

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 14, 2025 5:05 PM CST

The US government has reportedly provided TSMC with multiple alternatives on how the company can move forward with its facilities in the United States, an option of which includes co-existing with Intel as a foundry business.

US government gives TSMC multiple alternatives for future in USA, tech transfer with Intel

President Trump has been clear that his administration won't allow TSMC to go away that easily, pushing his "Made in USA" initiative. In a new post from @Jukanlosreve and a report from DigiTimes, we're learning that the US government has given TSMC three different alternatives on how Taiwan could ensure its presence in US markets.

This mostly includes promoting US semiconductor domestic production, and helping Intel from drowning. We only just reported that SMC is reportedly working on a new advanced packaging facility in the US, but the other alternatives include TSMC investing in Intel Foundry and could see a technology transfer occur, meaning that TSMC could lose its market dominance.

Continue reading: US government gives TSMC multiple alternatives for future in USA, tech transfer with Intel (full post)

TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 13, 2025 2:02 PM CST

TSMC is reportedly working on developing a new advanced chip packaging plant in the US, joining its development of chip-making facilities on American soil.

TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs

President Trump's second term seems to be taking things to the next level for the United States, with TSMC working favorably to get semiconductor production from Taiwan and onto US soil. In a new report from the Financial Times, we're learning that under President Trump's decision to force chip tariffs on Taiwan, TSMC has eased on its stance towards its expansion into the US, and is now reportedly working on advanced chip packaging facility in the US, which would help ease the effects of chip tariffs.

President Trump has never been a fan of Taiwan setting up factotres in the US, and didn't like the CHIPS Act saying that it is like "gifting out" money to Taiwan. In a recent House Republican discussion, President Trump reiterated his plans to impose chip tariffs on Taiwan, proposing high taxations on chipmakers.

Continue reading: TSMC rumored to be working on advanced chip packaging plant in the USA, would avoid tariffs (full post)

Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history

Jak Connor | Feb 12, 2025 6:52 AM CST

Elon Musk has taken to his personal X account to warn he has discovered the the level of fraudulent federal entitlements exceeds the combined sum of every private scam anyone has ever heard of.

Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history

The post from Elon Musk has undoubtedly kicked off several alarm bells within the US government as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO continues to audit the US government books with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to Musk, he is "100% certain" that the magnitude of the fraudulent federal entitlements, which include services such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, and others, completely outweighs the combined sum "of every private scam you've ever heard by FAR."

The alarming post from Musk comes after the billionaire took to his X account on February 8 to share that he was informed there is currently more than $100 billion per year of entitlements distributed out to people with no Social Security Number or "even a temporary ID number." For those who don't know, individuals must have a Social Security Number in order to work, collect Social Security Benefits, and officially receive government assistance, according to the Social Security Administration website, per Newsweek.

Continue reading: Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history (full post)

Palmer Luckey-founded Anduril inks huge US Army deal: 'turning soldiers into superheroes'

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 11, 2025 8:08 PM CST

Andural Industries is taking over the US Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, with the Palmer Luckey-led defense contractor waiting for approval from the Department of Defense.

Palmer Luckey-founded Anduril inks huge US Army deal: 'turning soldiers into superheroes'

Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus VR which was purchased by Facebook (before it came Meta, and the Oculus Rift now the Quest VR family of headsets) and is the founder of Andural Industries. Luckey's company is taking control of the largest project of its kind in history, and for Palmer, "this announcement is deeply personal".

On a post on his own blog, Palmer explained: "Since my pre-Oculus days as a teenager who had the opportunity to do a tiny bit of work on the Army's BRAVEMIND project, I've believed there would be a headset on every soldier long before there is a headset on every civilian. Given that America loses more troops in training than combat, the Squad Immersive Virtual Trainer (SiVT) side of IVAS alone has the potential to save more lives than practically anything else we can imagine building".

Continue reading: Palmer Luckey-founded Anduril inks huge US Army deal: 'turning soldiers into superheroes' (full post)

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