Taiwan semiconductor digest: week 36
Nvidia’s highly anticipated Q2 revenue announcement dominated the headlines last week along with reports that TSMC is expected to achieve over $30 billion in sales from its 3nm and 5nm advanced nodes during the first three quarters this year. Meanwhile, Intel is said to be considering selling off its own foundry business while panel-maker AUO is selling off two manufacturing plants in Taiwan to Micron.
Nvidia reported a Q2 revenue of US$30 billion, marking a 122% year-over-year increase and a 15% jump from Q1, as the company rides the wave of the AI boom. Looking ahead, Nvidia forecasts Q3 revenue to reach US$32.5 billion and after making some design changes to improve manufacturing yield at TSMC, expects several billion in revenue from its next-generation Blackwell product, set to ramp up in Q4.
TSMC is poised to generate approximately US$31 billion in total revenue from its 3nm and 5nm advanced nodes in the first three quarters of this year, accounting for roughly half of the foundry’s total revenue. This impressive performance highlights the company’s technological edge over competitors Samsung and Intel.
According to Bloomberg reports, Intel is exploring options with investment bankers to potentially split off its foundry business and reevaluate plans for new factories to curb losses. The chipmaker has reportedly engaged in discussions with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to chart a path forward
AUO is selling its manufacturing facility and land in Tainan to Micron for US$232 million, as part of its strategy to divest from flat panel manufacturing. Micron intends to repurpose the Tainan facility into a wafer testing facility to support its DRAM production in Taichung and Taoyuan. In addition, AUO also plans to sell its Taichung facility to Micron for US$21 million.
SMIC, China’s leading foundry, has announced plans to expand capacity with four new 12-inch wafer fabs across Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Shenzhen. These facilities are expected to come online after 2025 and will add a combined monthly capacity of 340,000 wafers. Production will be focused on the 28nm mode to meet local demand.
Hua Hong, China’s second-largest foundry, is reportedly accelerating its capacity expansion plans. The company is fast-tracking the production ramp of its phase 2 12-inch fab in Wuxi, with equipment installation completed ahead of schedule. Trial production is expected by the end of 2024, with mass production and anticipated in Q1 2025.
