June 5, 2025

Washington redraws CHIPS grants, GlobalFoundries bets $16 B at home, and ASML’s $400 M High-NA tool

Round-up

Highlights

  1. White House re-writes the fine print. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told senators the Trump administration is renegotiating “over-generous” CHIPS Act awards—and is willing to scrap some deals altogether.1
  2. GlobalFoundries doubles-down on U.S. fabs. The company unveiled a $16 billion expansion of its New York and Vermont sites, adding advanced packaging, GaN and silicon-photonics capacity.23
  3. ASML’s next-gen lithography hits sticker shock. ASML formally showcased its first High-NA EUV scanner (0.55 NA, ~$400 M each), but TSMC signalled it is “in no rush” to adopt the tool at scale.45

Other developments

  • India slashes SEZ land requirements to lure chip fabs.6
  • China rolls out a tracking system for rare-earth magnets, tightening choke points on motors and actuators.7
  • Taiwan and Guatemala sign an MOU to grow a Central-American chip supply chain.8
  • TSMC’s A16 (1.6 nm) wafers could command $45 k each, 50 % above N3 pricing.9
  • Broadcom stock hits another record after first Tomahawk 6 shipments and ahead of Q2 earnings.10
  • Samsung & Micron reportedly exit MLC NAND, pushing up niche memory prices.11
  • Samsung teams with Infineon + NXP on 5 nm automotive SoCs.12
  • Alphawave Semi tapes-out the first 36 G UCIe™ IP on TSMC N2, delivering 11.8 Tb/s/mm bandwidth.13

Did you know? Each High-NA EUV scanner weighs about 200 t—heavier than a fully-loaded Boeing 787, and ships in 13 specialised containers.4

In-depth

1. Government & Corporate Policy

  • CHIPS Act renegotiations

    • Commerce says awards to TSMC and others were “sweetened” under the prior administration.1
    • Goal: keep >50 % of global AI compute on U.S. soil.

  • India eases SEZ rules

    • Land requirement cut from 50 ha to 10 ha; on-site sales now allowed.6
    • Move targets display, battery and especially semiconductor investors.

  • China’s rare-earth magnet controls

    • New online ledger demands exporters log volumes and end-users.7
    • Automakers already reporting line stoppages as licence delays bite.

  • Taiwan-Guatemala semiconductor pact

    • MOU covers talent exchange and pilot-line support for micro-assembly.8
    • Part of Taipei’s strategy to deepen diplomatic ties in Central America.

2. Economics, Finance & Business Outlook

  • $16 B GlobalFoundries expansion

    • $13 B to capacity, $3 B to R&D; key backers include Apple and Qualcomm.23
    • Positions GF as the largest U.S. contract foundry on mature nodes.

  • Wafer-cost inflation at TSMC

    • Rumoured $30 k for N2 and up to $45 k for A16 (1.6 nm).[^\6]
    • Could lift chip ASPs for 2027-era AI accelerators by double digits.

  • Chip equities momentum

    • Broadcom rises ~3 % to an all-time high after confirming volume AI-switch shipments.10
    • MSCI world index hits record; Nvidia, AMD tailwind lifts wider sector.14

  • Legacy NAND shake-up

    • Samsung’s quiet exit from 2-bit MLC—and Micron’s rumoured follow-on—has already pushed MLC contract pricing ~8 % M/M, boosting smaller Taiwanese suppliers.11

3. Technology & R&D

  • High-NA EUV arrives, buyers hesitate

    • ASML’s first 0.55 NA tool is in demo; TSMC warns high cost and mask counts still under study.45
    • Intel remains launch customer, but volume adoption now seen “post-2028”.

  • Automotive compute alliance

    • Samsung + Infineon + NXP to co-design 5 nm SoCs with integrated NPUs for L3+ autonomy.12
    • Targets 15 % CAGR in in-vehicle semiconductors over five years.

  • Chiplet interconnect on N2

    • Alphawave Semi’s 36 G UCIe on TSMC N2 hits 11.8 Tb/s/mm, paving 64 G roadmap.13
    • Demonstrator uses CoWoS® and live per-lane health monitoring.

  • Apple’s A20 packaging twist

    • Analyst note points to wafer-level MCM, bonding DRAM and SoC before dicing—shrinking latency for mobile AI workloads.15
    • Signals smartphone adoption of data-center-style 2.5D integration.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-renegotiating-overly-generous-biden-chips-act-grants-2025-06-04/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/05/news-globalfoundries-commits-16b-to-strengthen-u-s-semiconductor-manufacturing/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. https://www.govconwire.com/2025/06/globalfoundries-16b-semiconductor-production-ai-development/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250605PD216/tsmc-euv-asml-ic-manufacturing-equipment.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. https://www.barrons.com/articles/asml-stock-price-euv-intel-tsmc-ca4bdd47 ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/devices/india-eases-sez-regulations-to-accelerate-semiconductor-manufacturing/121644078 ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-increases-scrutiny-over-rare-earth-magnets-with-new-tracking-system-2025-06-04/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/06/05/2003838108 ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/tsmc-could-charge-up-to-usd45-000-for-1-6nm-wafers-rumors-allege-a-50-percent-increase-in-pricing-over-prior-gen-wafers ↩︎

  10. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-dip-investors-await-trade-negotiations-2025-06-03/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/05/news-samsung-and-micron-rumored-to-phase-out-mlc-driving-price-hikes-and-order-surge-for-taiwanese-suppliers/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  12. https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/06/05/news-samsung-to-co-develop-next-gen-in-vehicle-semiconductor-technology-with-automotive-chipmaker/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  13. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250605712350/en/Alphawave-Semi-Tapes-Out-Breakthrough-36G-UCIe-IP-on-TSMC-2nm-Unlocking-Foundational-AI-Platform-IP-on-Nanosheet-Processes ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-06-04/ ↩︎

  15. https://macdailynews.com/2025/06/04/apples-2nm-a20-chip-will-sport-new-packaging-breakthrough/ ↩︎