Round‑up
Highlights
- Huawei’s dual‑die “H100 challenger.” The Ascend 910C heads to customers next month, marrying two 910B dies to almost match Nvidia’s flagship despite U.S. curbs 1.
- Foundry giant sounds the alarm. TSMC’s annual filing admits it “cannot fully assure” that exported AI silicon stays out of embargoed hands—fuel for tougher export rules 2.
- K‑chips buck the tariff drag. Seoul’s mid‑April customs data show semiconductor exports up 10.7 % even as overall shipments slide 5.2 % 3.
Other developments (last 24 h)
- Beijing warns ASEAN and the EU against “being played” by Washington on trade deals 4
- UAE signals optimism on unlocking access to cutting‑edge U.S. AI chips after its record $1.4 tn pledge 5
- Nvidia’s Jensen Huang lobbies Tokyo for more data‑center power to sustain AI build‑outs 6
- Edge‑AI firm Blaize wins Chungbuk smart‑city contract in Korea 7
- InspireSemi seeks fresh capital as it preps its 5 nm Thunderbird accelerator 8
- Global markets wobble on fresh tariff talk and Fed uncertainty, sending chip stocks lower 9
Did you know?
Semiconductors were the only major South‑Korean export category to post growth (+10.7 %) in the latest customs snapshot, while autos and parts both fell 3.
In‑depth
1. Government & Corporate Policy
- China’s trade warning.
- Commerce Ministry accuses the U.S. of “abusive tariffs” and vows mirror counter‑measures 4.
- ASEAN governments now weigh dual‑sourcing strategies to avoid collateral damage.
- TSMC’s compliance gap.
- New risk disclosure concedes limited visibility once wafers leave its docks 2.
- Statement lands as Washington mulls bigger penalties for diversion of advanced nodes.
- UAE chips diplomacy.
- Abu Dhabi touts “clear progress” on U.S. license access after its $1.4 tn investment pledge 5.
- Officials pitch the Gulf state as a “trusted non‑proliferation partner” for AI silicon.
- Market nerves over tariff policy.
- Trump’s threats to broaden levies spark a flight to safe‑havens; SOX index slips alongside futures 9.
- Analysts warn further hikes could remove 90 bps from global semiconductor demand this year.
2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook
- Semis prop up Korean trade.
- Chips +10.7 % YoY versus total exports ‑5.2 % 3.
- Memory buyers accelerated pull‑ins ahead of expected U.S. tariffs.
- Huawei’s domestic boom.
- First volume wave of 910C projected to shift billions of RMB in 2025 bookings 1.
- Analyst consensus sees 25 % of Chinese Gen‑AI servers using the part by year‑end.
- InspireSemi funding push.
- Vancouver‑Austin start‑up opens financing round tied to July silicon of “Thunderbird‑1” accelerator 8.
- Targets HPC and graph‑analytics segments that crave high memory bandwidth.
- Power pain for hyperscalers.
- Nvidia CEO tells Japanese ministers the nation must add gigawatts of carbon‑free capacity to host the next wave of AI clusters 6.
- Tokyo Electric is exploring special tariffs and on‑site renewables to seal the deal.
3. Technology & R&D
- Ascend 910C: dual‑die strength.
- 320 TFLOPS FP16, 128 GB HBM per package and expanded AI framework stack 1.
- Uses advanced 2.5‑D packaging akin to Nvidia’s CoWoS approach.
- Edge AI for smart cities.
- Blaize’s ultra‑low‑power accelerator chosen for Chungbuk Digital Innovation Hub 7.
- Project includes real‑time traffic analytics and safety monitoring across 70 intersections.
- TSMC’s traceability hurdle.
- Japan power‑hungry AI build‑out.
- Huang’s proposal includes sub‑5 MW modular datacenters co‑located with geothermal sources 6.
- Concept mirrors Nvidia’s recent U.S. micro‑grid pilots aimed at lowering Scope‑2 emissions.
Footnotes
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Reuters — “Huawei readies new AI chip for mass shipment as China seeks Nvidia alternatives,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/huawei-readies-new-ai-chip-mass-shipment-china-seeks-nvidia-alternatives-sources-2025-04-21/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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Bloomberg — “TSMC Warns of Limits of Ability to Keep Its AI Chips From China,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-21/tsmc-warns-of-limits-of-ability-to-keep-its-ai-chips-from-china ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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Reuters — “South Korea April 1‑20 exports fall as U.S. shipments drop amid tariffs,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-april-1-20-exports-fall-us-shipments-drop-amid-tariffs-2025-04-21/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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Reuters — “China warns countries against striking trade deals with U.S. at its expense,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/china-opposes-any-deals-between-us-other-nations-its-expense-2025-04-21/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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Bloomberg — “Abu Dhabi’s clout: UAE sees progress on AI‑chip access after $1.4 tn pledge,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-04-21/abu-dhabi-s-clout-goldman-s-hedge-fund-event-uk-deals-uae-s-ai-chips-access ↩︎ ↩︎
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Bloomberg — “Nvidia CEO lobbies Japan for more power to fuel AI,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-21/nvidia-ceo-lobbies-japan-for-more-power-data-centers-to-fuel-ai ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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BusinessWire — “CBIST Selects Blaize to Power its 2025 Smart City Development Project,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250421246540/en/CBIST-Selects-Blaize-to-Power-its-2025-Smart-City-Development-Project ↩︎ ↩︎
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GlobeNewswire — “InspireSemi Provides Business Update and Proposed Financing,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/04/21/3064709/0/en/InspireSemi-Provides-Business-Update-and-Proposed-Financing.html ↩︎ ↩︎
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Reuters — “Stocks, dollar slide as Trump’s attacks on Fed shake markets,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2025-04-21/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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Tech in Asia — “TSMC warns it can’t fully prevent AI chips reaching China,” Apr 21 2025. https://www.techinasia.com/news/tsmc-warns-fully-prevent-ai-chips-reaching-china ↩︎