Round-up
- TSMC leaps to the “A-14 Å” node and wafer-scale packaging. At its North-America Tech Symposium, the foundry previewed a 1.4 nm‐class A14 process (15 % faster / 30 % lower power vs N2) and a new System-on-Wafer X platform that stitches 16 dies and HBM on a dinner-plate-sized substrate for multi-kilowatt AI racks 12.
- SK Hynix posts a 158 % profit surge on record HBM demand, brushes off U.S. tariff risk. The Nvidia supplier says AI-class memory sales will “more than double” in 2025 even if reciprocal levies land 3.
- Lam Research beats estimates as advanced-etch and deposition orders swell. March-quarter revenue hit $4.72 bn; management guides another step-up on AI device tooling despite China license headwinds 4.
Other developments
- ASML shareholders approve a €6.40 / share 2024 dividend 5
- STMicro says customers are “not panicking” over tariffs and sees Q2 sales up q/q 6
- Cadence and Synopsys certify full EDA flows for TSMC’s new A16/N2P nodes and extend support to A14 78
- MacRumors confirms Apple is an early A14 anchor customer for 2028 iPhone silicon 9.
Did you know?
TSMC’s wafer-scale SoW-X assembly packs ≈40 × the compute density of today’s CoWoS-L packages by stretching the interposer to nine reticle fields — a feat made possible by new lithography stitching and optical power delivery layers 2.
In-depth
1. Government & Corporate Policy
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ASML’s 2025 AGM green-lights bigger buybacks and board refresh.
- Shareholders OK a 10 % share-repurchase mandate and €6.40 total dividend for FY-24 5.
- PwC will audit both financials and sustainability KPIs through 2026.
- Dutch ministers hailed the vote as proof that export-license uncertainty has not dented investor confidence.
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Hyundai scrambles to blunt Trump’s 25 % auto-parts tariff.
- New internal task-force evaluating U.S. sourcing for semiconductors and EV power modules 10.
- First action: shift 16 k Tucson units from Mexico to Montgomery, AL; more model moves under review.
- Korean trade officials meet USTR today seeking carve-outs for key micro-controllers.
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STMicro: “urgent to wait and see.”
- CEO Jean-Marc Chery says no customer pull-ins or cancels yet despite looming chip levies 6.
- Warns auto supply-chain requalification is “heavy” and could freeze design-ins for quarters.
- Sees opportunity to grab share if U.S. peers stumble on tariff compliance.
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China-focused export-control chatter cools.
- SK Hynix claims <5 % of HBM shipments enter the U.S. directly, limiting tariff exposure 3.
- Korean officials say any additional BIS licenses this quarter would target networking ASICs, not memory.
2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook
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SK Hynix back in the black.
- Q1 operating profit ₩7.44 tn (+158 % y/y) on 42 % revenue jump 3.
- HBM share now >70 % of segment sales; company overtakes Samsung in DRAM market-share.
- Guides “minimal” impact from U.S. investigations because most AI DIMMs ship via third-country integrators.
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Lam Research rides the AI tooling wave.
- March-quarter revenue +4 % q/q to $4.72 bn, beating LSEG consensus 4.
- Shipments to Taiwan (read: TSMC) and China drove 55 % of the quarter.
- FY-25 model lifted to $25-28 bn on strength in backside power-delivery and HBM etch.
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STMicro spots the cyclical bottom.
- Q1 revenue $2.52 bn; projects $2.71 bn in Q2 on nascent auto/industrial recovery 6.
- Jefferies notes inventory correction “largely done” outside consumer handsets.
- Company keeps full-year guide open while monitoring tariff pass-through.
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ASML dividend and buyback signal cash confidence.
- €1.84 final payout sets new annual record; repurchase envelope equals 10 % of share count 5.
- CFO says EUV backlog “extends well into 2027 even in worst-case tariff scenarios.”
3. Technology & R&D
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TSMC’s A14 & SoW-X steal the show.
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Cadence certifies full 3D-IC design flow for A16/N2P.
- Integrity 3D-IC platform now covers 5.5× reticle CoWoS and upcoming HBM4 test chips 7.
- Automotive-grade IP (PCIe 5, LPDDR5X-9600) also qualified at N3A and N5A.
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Synopsys brings Synopsys.ai to angstrom-scale nodes.
- Digital & analog flows, 3DIC Compiler and 224 G PHY IP certified for A16 & N2P; A14 enablement in progress 8.
- New elastic IC Validator handles 3Dblox and backside-routing sign-off.
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RF front-end gets an N4C lift.
- TSMC’s new “N4C RF” platform targets Wi-Fi 8 and AI audio wearables; risk production Q1 26 2.
- Early adopters said to include Apple and MediaTek.
Footnotes
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https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tsmc-shows-off-new-tech-stitching-together-bigger-faster-chips-2025-04-23/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nvidia-supplier-sk-hynixs-q1-profit-jumps-beating-expectations-2025-04-23/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/lam-research-beats-quarterly-revenue-estimates-surging-ai-chip-demand-2025-04-23/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.asml.com/en/news/press-releases/2025/asml-discloses-2025-agm-results ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/technology/stmicroelectronics-calls-q1-bottom-2025-predicts-better-q2-2025-04-24/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.techpowerup.com/335885/cadence-and-tsmc-advance-ai-and-3d-ic-chip-design-with-certified-design-solutions-for-tsmc-a16-and-n2p-process ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.design-reuse.com/news/57735/synopsys-tsmc-a16-n2p.html ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/24/apple-partner-tsmc-1-4nm-process-2028-chips/ ↩︎ ↩︎
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https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/hyundai-motor-reports-2-rise-q1-operating-profit-2025-04-24/ ↩︎