1. For the first time in many years, TSMC’s foundry quotation has been fully revised
According to Fast Technology, the demand is insufficient, and TSMC’s high foundry prices, which have always been strong, can’t support it. Even if there are many advanced processes idle, TSMC is forced to make concessions on the foundry quotation in the coming year. Related reports pointed out that TSMC has recently negotiated with customers that as long as the production volume meets the regulations, the quotation will be discounted. This is the first time TSMC has made price concessions in several years.
Due to its superior production capacity and technology, TSMC has always been absolutely strong in chip foundry bargaining. If it does not agree, it will not accept orders. Even Apple is very afraid. Today, unlike in the past, TSMC rarely adjusts its price strategy, but this also means that the situation in the chip industry will not get better for a while, at least until 2024.
2. Organization: The semiconductor industry is expected to start recovering in 2024
According to the “Semiconductor Manufacturing Monitor” report jointly released by the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) and TechInsights, as the continuous decline in IC sales begins to slow down, the global semiconductor industry seems to be nearing the end of the decline cycle, which is expected to begin in 2024. recovery.
Electronics sales are expected to grow 10% sequentially in the third quarter, while memory sales are expected to post double-digit growth for the first time since the third quarter of last year. Sales of logic ICs are expected to remain stable and improve as demand gradually recovers.
IDMs and fabless factories will continue to be affected by destocking, and capacity utilization will be much lower than in the first half of the year. Market indicators show that the semiconductor industry bottomed out at the end of the first half of 2023 and has since started to recover, setting the stage for continued growth in 2024. All segments are expected to grow in 2024, with electronics sales surpassing the 2022 peak.
3. The cost of production expansion is high, and the silicon carbide substrate giant Wolfspeed reported a loss
Silicon carbide giant Wolfspeed recently announced its financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 (as of June 25), with revenue of US$236 million, a year-on-year increase of 3%, and a net loss of US$61.8 million in the same period last year to 113.3 million this year. Dollar. For the full year, Wolfspeed’s revenue was US$922 million, an increase of 19% over the previous year; losses increased from US$248 million to US$381 million. Among them, the construction cost of the factory increased from 70 million US dollars to 160 million US dollars.
According to Wolfspeed’s statement, the loss is due to the assumption of a large number of factory start-up costs, and the fact that the facilities under construction or expansion have not yet generated revenue. Wolfspeed incurred factory start-up costs of $39.5 million in the fiscal fourth quarter and $160.2 million in fiscal 2023, accounting for a significant portion of operating expenses. Over the past 12 months, customers have continued to choose Wolfspeed for silicon carbide expansion, so FY 2024 will continue to focus on expanding material and equipment capacity.
4. Demand declines, Samsung’s DRAM share hits a new low in nearly 9 years
According to the fast technology report, according to data from the market research organization DRAM Exchange, Samsung Electronics’ global DRAM market share in the first half of this year is estimated to be 41.9%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.6 percentage points. The decrease was due to customer inventory adjustments, lower shipments and lower selling prices due to the prolonged memory market downturn.
In addition, the inventory of Samsung Electronics increased significantly in the first half of the year, and the value of its semiconductor business unit inventory products exceeded 33 trillion won, a substantial increase from the first half of last year.
5. Intel: Terminate the acquisition of High Tower Semiconductor
On August 16, Intel announced that it had jointly agreed with High Tower Semiconductor to terminate its previously disclosed acquisition agreement due to its inability to obtain the regulatory approvals required for the merger agreement on February 15, 2022 in time. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Intel will pay Tower Semiconductor a $353 million termination fee.
6. Infineon and Spark Connected jointly launched a 500W wireless charging module
On August 27, Spark Connected, an unlimited charging solution provider, and Infineon jointly launched a 500W wireless charging solution called Yeti. The integrated wireless charging module is designed to power and charge industrial machinery, autonomous mobile robots, automated guided vehicles, light electric vehicles, e-Mobility and other power-intensive applications.
The Yeti module can provide up to 500W of power for efficient and fast charging, and also has the industry’s highest efficiency of more than 95%. The Yeti 500W integrates Infineon’s dual-core PsoC 63 Bluetooth low energy MCU for smart control, and the company’s CoolGaN products to improve efficiency and reduce EMI. The Yeti 500W industrial wireless charging module will be available for customer sampling in the third quarter of 2023.