Taiwan’s semiconductor (TSMC) semiconductor company may have to pay a $ 1 billion fine or more to resolve an export control investigation in the US regarding a chip that was used in a Huawei processor, according to a Reuters report.
TSMC did not give any further comment as it is now “in (a) calm period,” a chipmaker spokesman said in a statement e -mail to Techcrunch.
It is the last development in a situation that first came out in the light at the end of 2024 including TSMC, Huawei and Xiamen Sophgo Technologies, a Chinese chip designer. Sophgo is a partner of Bitmain, a supplier of Bitcoin mining equipment, and TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
Reports at the time showed that a significant amount of chip -controlled by TSMC export dies in the accelerator of the mass produced of Huawei, the 910b processor he.
In nesting nest fashion, it is alleged that the TSMC chip was built on the sophgo chip, and the sophgo chip was later built on ASCEND 901b, according to the report.
This is important not only because of export rules, but because the Huawei multi-chip processor is considered the most advanced in his class to be done in China. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of these processors were produced with these ingredients.
“TSMC is a company that respects the law and we are committed to respecting all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls,” TSMC said in a statement. “In accordance with regulatory requirements, TSMC has not been supplied by Huawei since mid -September 2020. If we have any reason to believe that there are potential issues, we will take rapid action to ensure compliance, including investigations and actively communicating with the relevant parties, including clients and regulatory authorities. In the report, in the report, in the report, including clients.
A TSMC Chip Shipment Time Deadline for Chinese Firms
October 2024
Techinsights, a technology research firm in Otava, Canada, dismantled the Huawei 910b processor he and discovered a TSMC -based chipset for reuters. The chipset resembled that made of sophgo. SOPHGO claimed that the US Department’s investigation into potential links between TSMC and Huawei does not include SOPHGO or its product. Sophgo has never had any direct or indirect business relationship with Huawei, she added.
November 2024
The US Trade Department ordered TSMC to stop remittances of advanced chips to Chinese clients, which included Sophgo.
December 2024
The American Trade Department considered the addition of SOPHGO to the US Black List.
January 2025
SH.BA subsequently added over twenty Chinese companies, including Zhipu AI, who specializes in developing large language models, and Sophgo.
