Semiconductor News 7.3

1. Intel Optane Persistent Memory 200 Series Discontinuation, but Supply Continues Until 2026

According to Tom's Hardware on July 3rd, Intel has announced the discontinuation phase of its Optane Persistent Memory (Optane PMem) 200 series products for servers. Orders will not be accepted after December 31, 2024, and shipments will cease after December 31, 2025. Intel customers need to confirm their demand for the 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB Optane PMem 200 series (including 4-piece and 50-piece SKU) and submit their final orders before December 31, 2024.

It is reported that Optane originated from Intel and Micron's jointly developed 3D XPoint storage technology, combining the advantages of traditional DRAM and NAND. However, it has been continuously losing money, with losses exceeding $576 million (about 4.199 billion RMB) in 2020 alone. The entire business started to be gradually abandoned in mid-2022, with related losses amounting to $559 million (about 4.075 billion RMB), totaling more than 8 billion RMB in losses.

2. Huawei's "AITO" Trademark Valued at 10.2 Billion RMB, Sold to Seres for 2.5 Billion RMB

On July 2, 2024, Seres announced that it intends to acquire Huawei's global "AITO" and other related trademark rights and application rights, as well as related design patents, for a total purchase price of 2.5 billion RMB. Seres stated that this transfer of goods and brand assets does not affect the existing cooperation between the two parties and further ensures the long-term development of AITO, reflecting both parties' user-centered approach and commitment to their joint business and AITO products.

In addition, Seres recently signed a further cooperation agreement with Huawei to deepen their joint business. According to the agreement, both parties will fully leverage their business advantages to build AITO into a world-class new luxury car leading brand. They will focus on the AITO brand under Seres, jointly design and market high-end intelligent electric vehicle products, and provide intelligent travel solutions, achieving commercial success together.

Huawei commented: "Huawei is transferring the AITO series of trademarks to Seres while continuing to support Seres in building and selling AITO. Huawei has always maintained that it does not make cars but leverages its leading intelligent connected vehicle technology to help car companies build and sell good cars. Huawei will continue to work with car companies to create excellent smart car products and provide an ultimate smart travel experience for users."

Notably, according to Seres' announcement, the valuation report for Huawei's "AITO" series trademarks and design patents shows their value reaching as high as 10.233 billion RMB. Besides "AITO," Huawei has previously transferred the "Zhijie" and "Xiangjie" trademarks to Chery and BAIC New Energy, respectively.

3. NVIDIA H200 Orders to be Delivered in Q3, B100 Expected in First Half of Next Year

According to Taiwan's Economic Daily News on July 3, NVIDIA's AI GPU H200 upstream chip production began in late Q2, with mass deliveries expected after Q3. However, the Blackwell platform launch timeline has been brought forward by at least one to two quarters, affecting end customers' willingness to purchase the H200. The supply chain pointed out that current pending client orders are still concentrated on the H100 in the HGX architecture, with limited weight on the H200. The H200, to be mass-produced and delivered in Q3, mainly includes the NVIDIA DGX H200. As for the B100, some visibility already exists, with shipments expected in the first half of next year.

4. TSMC's Advanced Process May Increase Prices Next Year: AI Products Up 5-10%, Non-AI Products Up 0-5%

According to IT Home on July 3, it has been reported that TSMC is preparing to announce a price increase from January 1 next year, mainly targeting the 3/5nm process, with other processes maintaining their original prices. It is said that TSMC plans to increase the prices of its AI products by 5-10% for the 3/5nm process, and non-AI products by 0-5%. Last month, Taiwanese media also reported news of TSMC's price increase.

It is known that the world's seven major technology giants (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple, and Google) will successively introduce TSMC's 3nm process. For example, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, MediaTek Dimensity 9400, and Apple A18 and M4 series will all adopt the N3 family. Among them, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 based on the N3E process has already started to increase in price, with quotes increasing by 25% compared to the previous generation, expected to exceed $250 (about 1822 RMB).

5. Samsung Electronics Developing "3.3D Advanced Packaging Technology," Targeting Mass Production in Q2 2026

According to the Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily on July 3, Samsung Electronics' Advanced Packaging (AVP) division is leading the development of "3.3D Advanced Packaging Technology" for AI semiconductor chips, targeting mass production in Q2 2026. This technology replaces the silicon intermediary layer with an RDL intermediary layer to connect logic chips and HBM. Through 3D stacking technology, the logic chips are stacked on the LLC. Samsung expects that after the new technology is commercialized, performance will not decline compared to existing silicon intermediary layers, and costs can be reduced by 22%. Samsung will also introduce "Panel-Level Packaging (PLP)" technology in 3.3D packaging.

6. Flagship Mobile SoCs to Fully Adopt N3E Process in the Second Half of the Year, Significant Performance Improvement

According to Digitimes on July 3, it is reported that major mobile SoC manufacturers such as Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek will launch flagship mobile SoC products in the second half of the year, fully adopting the higher specification TSMC N3E process, with significant performance improvements. Among them, Apple's A18 processor will surpass the M4 processor.

7. Facing Major Gaps in the US Chip Industry, Biden Administration Prepares to Spend Money to Remedy

According to Phoenix Technology on July 2, the Biden administration is launching a plan to cultivate the US computer chip workforce to avoid labor shortages threatening domestic semiconductor production. This plan, known as the Workforce Partner Alliance, will use part of the $5 billion in federal funds reserved for the new National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). The NSTC plans to award grants to up to 10 workforce development projects, with budgets ranging from $500,000 to $2 million each. The center will also launch additional application procedures in the coming months, and officials will determine the overall spending level after considering all proposals.

These funds come from the CHIPS and Science Act passed in 2022, which allocates $39 billion to boost US chip manufacturing and an additional $11 billion for semiconductor research and development, including NSTC. In response to US government incentives, companies have pledged to invest more than 10 times the amount of government subsidies, and this surge in investment will reshape the global semiconductor supply chain. The plan launched by the US government on Monday is the first funding focus on workforce development under the act.

8. Morgan Stanley: Apple's Next-Generation AI Chip May Use TSMC Products

According to CLS on July 3, Morgan Stanley analysts, including Charlie Chan, wrote in a report that Apple might use TSMC's SoIC-X chip stacking technology services in its M5 series chips for AI servers. Apple aims to mass-produce M5 chips in the second half of next year. Apple currently uses M2 Ultra chips in AI server clusters, with estimated usage reaching about 200,000 units this year. As M5 chips enter mass production, TSMC is expected to significantly expand its SoIC capacity next year.

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