TSMC’s license to supply chips to Huawei allegedly comes with a twist



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As refreshing as it may sound, Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC obtained a license from the US to supply chips to Huawei. Before you take a breath and think about the change of luck, this license for TSMC seems to have a twist.

According to a report by sina.com (via PhoneArena), familiar sources say the license covers only mature compute nodes. And not the most recent ones used by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) for the manufacture of mobile chips. ‘Mature’ sometimes denotes what is old or what is in the past. If we look from this perspective, older compute nodes like 28nm or more are reported to be on the list.

If the report turns out to be true, it is very bad news for Huawei, since all chips today are based on 10nm, 7nm, 5nm, etc. That said, the company has likely stocked enough Kirin 9000 SoCs for the Huawei Mate. Series 40 launch this month. But it’s a big question of how the company will survive after this, as most factories have abandoned the Chinese giant after September 15. That said, both Huawei and TSMC have yet to officially say a word.

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Huawei had entered a ‘survival mode’ as the aforementioned date approached. After accumulating enough tokens, the company is looking for options to participate. However, the United States seems to have closed all doors at least for the moment. However, for TSMC, there can be smiles in the camp. Recently, it reported a 14.7% quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2020.

While most likely due to Huawei’s chip foray, a 21.65% year-on-year increase compared to 2019 is staggering. A recent financial report from TSMC says revenue is 84,488 million yuan ($ 73.9 million), breaking the record for the fourth quarter of last year. But we know that the dust has settled now. And while it fixed the vacant factories with orders from Apple, it has lost one of its big customers.

Previously, few rumors said that TSMC agreed to build a factory in Arizona, USA, expecting something in return. However, Keith Krach, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, dismissed the accusations. The report ultimately says that the United States will not fully reprimand Huawei. This is evident from reports from the country licensing AMD and Intel. But it seems the damage has already been done by checkmate Huawei with mobile base station chips and 5G.

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